Chrysler might have unveiled the completely redesigned 200 sedan earlier this year, but the convertible version of the outgoing model will not live on past 2015 in the U.S.
According to Edmunds, the Chrysler 200 convertible has been axed for two reasons. Last year, Chrysler sold 122,480 examples of the 200, but less than five per cent were convertible models. In addition to lackluster sales, Doug Verley, the 200′s chief engineer, says the cost to engineer the redesigned 200 into a convertible would be “substantial.”
“We’d have to re-engineer the rear of the car because we now need a new deck lid … and inside the convertible, we’d have to add quite a bit of structure into the A-pillars and sills,” Verley told Edmunds. “We’d want to give the customer a similar driving experience to the 2015 200 sedan, and on a convertible, we’d have to create that same torsional stiffness without a roof structure.”
Along with the 200 convertible, the Dodge Avenger has been axed for 2015 in a bid to prevent sales of the Dodge Dart from being cannibalized and to minimize “sister” vehicles, according to a Chrysler spokesperson.
