Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S. automaker, will eliminate either the Dodge Nitro or Jeep Liberty sport-utility vehicle by the end of 2012, according to a sales executive.

North American sales chief Steve Landry was asked on a conference call if the automaker would offer only one of the two vehicles by 2012. He said that was the plan.

``As we move toward 2012, we won't have this dual badging of products and duplicating products,'' Landry told reporters on the call yesterday. Chrysler plans to have ``one branded body'' for the Nitro and Liberty after that, he said in response to a question.

Chrysler, working to save development and marketing costs, wants to eliminate overlapping models that compete with each other. Earlier this year, President Jim Press said the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company aims to cut in half the number of SUVs it offers.

``For us to be an effective company in the long term, all three of our brands belong under one roof,'' Stuart Schorr, a Chrysler spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. ``Therefore, we have a process to over the long term rationalize our product line so that we are not competing with ourselves.''

Chrysler hasn't made any announcements about eliminating the vehicles from its lineup.

Not Doing Enough

The automaker is most likely to do away with the Nitro, introduced in October 2006, said Stephanie Brinley, a product analyst at AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, Michigan. Chrysler sold 1,991 Nitros in August and about twice as many Liberties, which are built on the same underpinnings at a factory in Toledo, Ohio.

``The Jeep Liberty has far more heritage than the Nitro,'' Brinley said. ``The Nitro doesn't really do enough for the Dodge brand.''

Through August, Chrysler had sold 49,330 Liberty SUVs in 2008, down 21 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. Nitro sales have fallen 44 percent to 27,540.

The Liberty was introduced in 2002, and was restyled last year to be bigger and boxier.

Extra Cost

The company will trim duplicate models over the next four or five years, Press said in February. He has said models such as the Chrysler Town & Country minivan and Dodge Grand Caravan or the Jeep Compass and Dodge Caliber unnecessarily compete against each another, and repeated the assertion this week.

``Our Town & Country is a great minivan, but we had to do a Dodge Caravan -- extra cost,'' Press said in a speech in Los Angeles on Sept. 2. ``It's like a car race where we own both cars.''

It costs the carmaker $100 million to advertise for each single new vehicle, Press said.

Chrysler is also consolidating dealerships so that each carries the Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler brands rather than only one or two of the product lines. With that change, the elimination of one of one brand's version of a vehicle won't hurt sales.

``If you put both the sales of Liberty or Nitro together it is doing what we want it to do,'' Landry said.

The combined sales of the two vehicles is greater than the best-selling Chrysler SUV, the Jeep Wrangler, which has sold 59,005 this year through August.

Chrysler, purchased by Cerberus Capital Management LP 13 months ago, already has cut its Dodge Magnum station wagon, PT Cruiser convertible, Chrysler Crossfire sports car and Chrysler Pacifica SUV. Chrysler plans to stop making the Jeep Commander large SUV next summer, people familiar with the company's plans have said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Ramsey in Southfield, Michigan, at mramsey6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 4, 2008 16:00 EDT