Chrysler LLC CEO Robert Nardelli believes the ailing carmaker can survive with or without the help of Fiat and that the proposed deal with the Italian firm will be worth between US$8 and US$10 billion in terms of the technology it brings.

"We were asked by the [US Treasury Department] task force whether Chrysler is viable without a global alliance partner. Our answer is absolutely yes, even with a conservative forecast of US auto industry sales trends," Nardelli said in an e-mail sent out to employees that was designed to reassure them about their future. "During the dialogue, and in the additional data we have supplied in response to their requests, we have continued to emphasize that Chrysler is a viable business on a stand-alone basis and our future is further enhanced through the proposed global alliance with Fiat.

Nardelli estimates that the value of the deal with Fiat could be worth up to US$10 billion to Chrysler. "The cash value of Fiat's contribution to be between US$8 and US$10 billion considering the cost to develop these vehicles, platforms and powertrains from scratch. This is equal to or greater than the total amount of loans we have requested from the U.S. government. Even more importantly, Chrysler would save three to five years in development time, giving us a major competitive advantage."

"We've received many questions about what needs to happen to close our deal with Fiat," noted Nardelli. "The good news is that the conditions are a mirror image of what the US government asked us to achieve in our viability plan," he continued. "Therefore, it is critical we meet all of our government requirements as the first step in finalising the alliance with Fiat

Chrysler has asked the government for another US$5 billion in taxpayer loans on top of the US$4 billion it has already received and Nardelli wrote that this additional funding will be used "to continue paying the wages of our employees, the invoices of our suppliers as well as investing in our future product plan." He expressed himself confident that all the loans can be repaid within five years.

"There is still considerable work and negotiations that must be completed to meet the government's target date of March 31," Nardelli also commented in the email to Chrysler employees. "I can assure you that we are working tirelessly to continue our progress with the assistance of the U.S. auto task force to meet the requirements set for us by the government."