WASHINGTON - CHRYSLER told lawmakers on Tuesday it needs a seven billion dollar loan (S$10.7 billion) by year-end to survive a perfect storm of a global credit crisis, falling demand for large vehicles and a global economic slump.

Chrysler, the smallest of the ailing Big Three Detroit automakers, said it will have an estimated 2.5 billion dollars (S$3.82 billion) in cash on hand by December 31 after a 'significant downturn' of the sector in the second half of the year.

Two weeks ago, the privately owned automaker said it expected to burn between five and seven billion dollars in cash in 2009.

'Without an immediate working capital bridge, Chrysler's liquidity could fall below the level necessary to sustain the company through the first quarter of 2009,' the company said.

The company, owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, and General Motors and Ford, presented their reorganization plans to Congress on Tuesday in hopes of proving their long-term viability to secure federal bailouts.

GM asked Congress for 18 billion dollars and Ford asked for nine billion in rescue loans.

Chrysler estimated that it would have operating profit of 400 million dollars in 2009, which would substantially increase in 2010 to 2.6 billion dollars.

Those estimates took into account a seven billion dollar loan from the federal government, which would raise the company's cash coffers to 7.5 billion dollars by the end of 2009, and to 9.8 billion a year later.

The company said it hopes to sell 1.19 million vehicles in the US market in 2009 and 1.72 million worldwide.

Chrysler stressed that it had reduced operating costs and adjusted production schedules immediately after being spun off from Germany's Daimler in August 2007.

'Chrysler has already embarked upon, and is accelerating, a plan to overhaul its cost structure, streamline its operations, redirect its product mix to meet CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards and 'greener' product demands, rationalise its dealer network and partner with its supplier base and workforce to return the company to health,' it said.

The downturn amid the global credit crunch in the past six months has been steep, the company said, noting it had approximately 9.4 billion dollars in cash at the end of the first six months of the year.

'Attempting to impose change by a bankruptcy filing will be less likely to garner long-term success than engaging each of the constituencies in negotiations to achieve consensus,' the company said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the embattled automaker reported US sales plummeted by 47 per cent in November amid one of the sharpest recorded drops in demand for US automobiles.

Chrysler blamed the collapse on tight credit and poor consumer confidence due to the worsening economic conditions.

Year-to-date sales were down 28 per cent to nearly 1.4 million vehicles.