US car maker Chrysler today reported a net loss of $172m in the second quarter, a smaller loss than in the first quarter of the year.
A year after it left bankruptcy Chrysler trimmed its quarterly losses by $25m from the first three months of 2010, and the firm said it was seeing more customers in its dealerships, helping it post an operating profit.
'The second quarter operating profit confirms that Chrysler Group is on track to achieve its goals, yet an extraordinary amount of work still lies ahead,' said CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Operating profit - which excludes taxes, interest and other charges - was up $40m to $183m between April and June, the company said.
Chrysler formed a strategic alliance with Fiat upon emerging from bankruptcy on June 10, leaving the Italian Marchionne to head the firm.
Marchionne said he now expected the roll-out of new models to drive growth for the rest of the year.
'Customer traffic in our dealerships and confidence in the company's future continued to grow with the launch of the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, one of the signature vehicles for Chrysler Group,' he said.
Worldwide sales rose around 22% in the second quarter, to 407,000 units, as US market share climbed slightly to 9.4%, from 9.1%.
