2 Chrysler executives leave; one from area

DETROIT - Chrysler's new Italian management yesterday announced a surprise shake-up of the automaker's executive team, saying two recently appointed brand chief executives - one of them a resident of Moorestown - have left.

The company also said it was splitting Dodge into two groups, one focusing on trucks and the other on cars.

The sudden departures marked the second management reorganization since Fiat Group SpA took control of Chrysler Group L.L.C. on June 10 when it emerged from bankruptcy.

The South Jersey resident, Peter L. Fong, was appointed in June as president and chief executive of the Chrysler brand and the company's top sales executive. The other official who left is Michael Accavitti, who was president and CEO of the Dodge brand.

Fong's departure was attributed by Chrysler to personal reasons, and it said Accavitti left to pursue other interests.

The departure of Fong, 45, a Villanova University graduate, was effective immediately, the company said.

The news shocked dealers in the Philadelphia region, who had gotten to know Fong before his promotion. Before June, he had been chief of Chrysler's Mid-Atlantic Business Center, which serves hundreds of dealerships. Before that, he had led Ford Motor Co.'s Philadelphia sales office.

"My phone's been off the hook all day, and nobody can seem to put their finger on why this happened," said David Kelleher, who owns Chrysler dealerships in Glen Mills and Southwest Philadelphia and visited Chrysler headquarters in Michigan a few weeks ago to work on several industry advisory committees. "It's a little difficult to digest. But hopefully they know what they're doing."

Kelleher said Fong yesterday morning sent him a message alerting him that news was about to break. The two men are friends, Kelleher said.

Fong had been commuting to Michigan from his family's Burlington County home since his promotion, but he had been tackling the new job with characteristic gusto and goodwill, Kelleher said. His departure was all the more confounding given that Fong had just increased his public profile at the international auto show in Germany, where he addressed the media.

"Two weeks ago, he's in Frankfurt laying out the visionary plans for the company as our voice," Kelleher said. "And now he's not there any longer, for personal reasons. I don't understand it."

Through Kelleher, Fong declined an interview request yesterday.

Sales of Chrysler Group vehicles - the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands, were down 39 percent for the first nine months of 2009 compared with the same period last year.

At the Frankfurt auto show, company executives said they wanted to make Chrysler a high-end luxury brand, while Dodge would feature performance and everyday cars and trucks. Jeep would remain a brand with off-road and sport-utility vehicles.