Chrysler Shifts Gears on Japan Cars : Drops Call for Freeze, Says It Will Triple Mitsubishi Imports

In a surprise move, Chrysler today dropped its call for a freeze on Japanese car imports and announced that it will triple the number of small vehicles it imports from its Japanese partner.

Chrysler Vice President Robert Miller told a House trade subcommittee that the company will complete a deal with Mitsubishi Motors to import an additional 200,000 Mitsubishi cars a year in addition to the 87,500 a year Chrysler currently imports.

Only two weeks ago, Chrysler executives had testified that Chrysler opposed lifting or relaxing the current 1.85-million-car quota the United States has negotiated with Japan.

To Expire March 31

That voluntary agreement is due to expire March 31 amid widespread speculation that President Reagan will not seek a renewal of the agreement for a fifth year.

At the trade hearing, U.S. Trade Representative Bill Brock said that Reagan has not yet decided whether to get an extension of the quotas but that he is expected to act “very soon.”

Two other major U.S. auto makers split their positions on imports, with General Motors repeating that it does not believe car restraints should continue and Ford saying the quotas have worked and should be extended.

Chrysler’s Miller, explaining his company’s switch, said the firm has been baffled by the apparent willingness at the White House to give up the quotas. He called them a bargaining chip worth $5 billion this year in improving trade with Japan.

Fighting GM in Courts

Chrysler has been fighting General Motors in the courts to stop a proposed joint venture between GM and Toyota.

“However, given the running rules dictated by GM and the Administration, it is now clear that Chrysler will have to make the hard choice of adopting a parallel Far East strategy of its own,” said Miller, who is the company’s head of finance and on its board of directors.

“It’s apparent to us that GM wants a lion’s share of the auto trade deficit,” he said. “Well, I’m here to say that Chrysler is forced to demand its share of the trade deficit, too.”

Chrysler markets Mitsubishi cars under various names, including the Dodge Colt.