Marchionne letter to Chrysler employees

Dear Colleagues,

With the release today of our preliminary 2013 financial results we have closed a remarkable chapter in Chrysler's proud history. Your courage and passion have restored Chrysler to being a competitive force in the auto industry and have created a strong partner with Fiat in building an exciting new global venture. You have earned the right to take pride in our achievements to date while renewing our shared commitment to strive to be the very best.

We posted a profit for the 10th straight quarter and for the full year showed net income of $2.8 billion, a 65 percent increase from the prior year. The results included a non-cash benefit of $962 million related to the release of valuation allowances on deferred tax assets and a loss of $24 million resulting from extinguishment of debt related to re-pricing transactions. Without those special items, adjusted net income came in at $1.8 billion, up 9 percent from 2012.

Our net revenue totaled $72 billion for 2013, a 10 percent increase primarily driven by a 6 percent rise in global vehicle shipments to 2.6 million units. Our sales have now increased, on a year-to-year basis, for 45 consecutive months in the U.S. and 49 straight months in Canada. For the year, U.S. market share came in at 11.4 percent compared with 11.2 percent the prior year. In Canada, market share rose to 14.6 percent in 2013, from 14.2 percent the previous 12 months.

We began shipments of the all-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee in October and the midsize SUV was warmly received, with 31,330 being sold last year. That helped Jeep set a new global sales record of 731,565 in 2013 and sets the stage for our ambitious plans to continue expanding the Jeep brand around the world.

Among the many accolades our products continue to receive, Motor Trend presented the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel its prestigious Truck of the Year Award. It was the second straight year that Ram 1500 took the award, the first time any truck has won in consecutive years.

Earlier this month, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we unveiled the all-new Chrysler 200 midsize sedan, which will reach the market during the first half of this year. We invested more than $1 billion in the product and in updating the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, including a new paint shop and fully robotic body shop. With its elegant design and features like a fuel-sipping 9-speed automatic transmission, the new Chrysler 200 gives us an exceptional opportunity to grow our share of the important midsize car segment.

Based on the Company's 2013 accomplishments, I am pleased to inform you that all eligible salaried and represented employees will be entitled to receive a performance award.

Of course, the biggest news was that an agreement was reached with the UAW's VEBA that enabled us to complete the union between Fiat and Chrysler. This makes us the world's seventh largest automaker. Our future is bright if all of us in this combined group continue to embrace common values including meritocracy, accountability and the willingness to embrace competition. We need to focus on building a common future and to remove any vestiges of thinking that involves "us" and "them." I ask you to continue bringing your skills and determination to make this next chapter the most rewarding one ever.