TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Dana Holding Corporation today announced that it has asked the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to provide a declaratory judgment confirming that the existing supply agreement between Dana and Chrysler LLC will conclude on Dec. 31, 2008.
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Dana is seeking to confirm its rights relative to the Settlement Agreement reached by the two companies in August, 2007 and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court one month later. The requested court action is an attempt to determine Dana's future course as a supplier to Chrysler.
"Our goal is to establish a mutually rewarding supply agreement with Chrysler moving forward," said Dana Executive Chairman John Devine. "However, Dana is prepared to exercise its right to discontinue supplying Chrysler effective January 1, 2009, if we continue to be unsuccessful in engaging them to address this goal in a meaningful way.
"While we sincerely hope that this will not be the case, we have informed Chrysler of our intentions in order to provide both companies with the time to consider their options for ongoing sourcing of the programs we currently support," he added. "While this is an isolated case, it serves to illustrate our commitment to pursue only market-competitive business opportunities moving forward."
Devine acknowledged that a potential decision to vacate the Chrysler business could have a substantial impact on select Dana facilities, but cautioned that any related concerns would be premature. "It's far too early and inappropriate to speculate on potential outcomes at a facility level," he said. "To be clear, our focus remains on achieving a market-competitive agreement with Chrysler moving forward."
Dana's history of supplying Chrysler dates back more than 70 years and includes supplying four-wheel drive and axle technologies for the very first Willys MA Jeep(R) produced in 1941. This relationship continues today with Dana's supply of drivetrain technologies for several Jeep models including the Wrangler, Liberty, and select versions of the Grand Cherokee; the Dodge Nitro and Viper vehicles; and select light- and medium-duty versions of the Dodge Ram pickup truck.
About Dana Holding Corporation
Dana is a world leader in the supply of axles; driveshafts; and structural, sealing, and thermal-management products; as well as genuine service parts. The company's customer base includes virtually every major vehicle manufacturer in the global automotive, commercial vehicle, and off-highway markets, which collectively produce nearly 70 million vehicles annually. Based in Toledo, Ohio, the company's operations employ approximately 35,000 people in 26 countries and reported 2007 sales of $8.7 billion. For more information, please visit: http://www.dana.com/.
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