Chrysler's Not Dead, It's Just Wounded

by Steph Willems

Published: June 1st, 2018

Rampant speculation on the Chrysler brand’s demise was premature. During a Q&A session in Italy on Friday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the brand has a future, but it won’t be as big as it once was.

Already, the brand pales in comparison to even the recent past. In 2005, Chrysler sales in the United States topped 600,000 vehicles (we all remember those Sebrings), and the brand plateaued above 300,000 annual sales in the period spanning 2012 to 2015. Last year’s tally? Just over 188,000 sales — not surprising, given its lineup now consists of a single, aging large sedan and a modern minivan. U.S. sales are down 9 percent over the first five months of 2018.

Marchionne’s remarks proved an earlier Bloomberg report true: Chrysler will become a North American brand. And Fiat? Sorry, it doesn’t look like it’s going to work.

Speaking from the company’s Balocca proving grounds, Marchionne called rumors of Chrysler’s demise “nonsense.” The company’s five-year product plan, released earlier Friday morning, omitted any mention of Fiat, Chrysler, and Dodge because the company wants to focus on global brands and global goals, he said.

Given the public’s shift towards larger vehicles, Marchionne said the Fiat brand would get a makeover, positioning it closer to the higher end of the market, especially in Europe. It’s hard to make profits off mass-market small cars, Marchionne said, adding that the company needs to identify places “where Fiat can play best.” Those places include Latin America, where the brand has a long history. As for North America, Marchionne said he doesn’t think the brand can “make it.”

“The numbers won’t be big enough,” he added. Consider that a confirmation of Fiat’s eventual demise in North America. (Buyers are already helping it reach that goal.)

When and how the brand disappears remains to be seen.

“Chrysler is a different story,” Marchionne said. “Chrysler is going to continue to be relevant in the United States.” He referenced the Pacifica, which remains the only hybrid minivan on the domestic market, as one of the reasons why the brand has a future. At last check, there’s two crossovers bound for the Chrysler stable (midsize and large), but Friday’s plan revealed no updates on those vehicles.

In its bid for greater profitability, FCA’s global focus lies on Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati. That relegates Chrysler and Dodge (which garnered nary a mention on Friday, at least thus far) to North America. “I don’t expect, in my view, for Chrysler to become a global brand,” Marchionne said.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]

#Chrysler #Fca #Fiat #FiatChryslerAutomobiles #FutureVehicles #ProductPlanning #SergioMarchionne

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

4 of 68 comments

MoparRocker74 on Jun 01, 2018

I sure hope the 300 gets a second generation off the upcoming Charger/Challenger platform. These things are still selling 50K-ish each year steadily with virtually no marketing whatsoever, and theyre total profit generators. If FCA beancounters think that 300 buyers will move to the Charger or whatever CUV is close then theyd better think again. Ive spent time in all the LX cars. For a sedan that is good at being a big comfy freeway bomber with brawny style, presence, and performance you cant beat the 300. Back seat of those is workable for my 6'1 250lb frame. The Charger with its roofline...NOPE. The 300's best year of sales was larger than any other LX cars peak year. Chrysler should be hawking these with every bit as much enthusiasm as the Dodge variants. 14 year old platform or not...the LX's are the best cars for the money you can buy...PERIOD. Nothing else remotely compares. Theres a reason its a success and has only needed evolutionary updates.

Like Reply
- Mark on Jun 04, 2018
  
  Just wanted to chime in on what you had to say here on the 300... I think you are spot-on with your comments. As a 300S owner, when I was ready for my next new car and the 300 was gone, I absolutely would not move over to the Charger (in any form). Nor would I convert to a CUV or SUV. If not so impractical for me, I would consider a decked out Challenger. But, I still need to be able to load large things with the seats down, have rear doors and a use-able back seat & trunk. On those points, the Challenger cannot fill the shoes of the 300 in it's current form. And, although one might say, then you are describing a Charger... maybe so, but personally, I have several reasons why I would not buy/drive a Charger. Don't know where I would go from there, but hope that I don't have to face that decision because in 2/3 years, I'd like to order another new 300S.
  
  Like
Durask on Jun 02, 2018

Just keep it as a minivan brand, the new Chrysler hybrid minivan is excellent.

Like Reply
- JohnTaurus on Jun 03, 2018
  
  So an entire brand for just a single, somewhat niche product.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Thankfully I don't have to deal with GDI issues in my Frontier. These cleaners should do well for me if I win.
Theflyersfan Serious answer time...Honda used to stand for excellence in auto engineering. Their first main claim to fame was the CVCC (we don't need a catalytic converter!) engine and it sent from there. Their suspensions, their VTEC engines, slick manual transmissions, even a stowing minivan seat, all theirs. But I think they've been coasting a bit lately. Yes, the Civic Type-R has a powerful small engine, but the Honda of old would have found a way to get more revs out of it and make it feel like an i-VTEC engine of old instead of any old turbo engine that can be found in a multitude of performance small cars. Their 1.5L turbo-4...well...have they ever figured out the oil dilution problems? Very un-Honda-like. Paint issues that still linger. Cheaper feeling interior trim. All things that fly in the face of what Honda once was. The only thing that they seem to have kept have been the sales staff that treat you with utter contempt for daring to walk into their inner sanctum and wanting a deal on something that isn't a bare-bones CR-V. So Honda, beat the rest of your Japanese and Korean rivals, and plug-in hybridize everything. If you want a relatively (in an engineering way) easy way to get ahead of the curve, raise the CAFE score, and have a major point to advertise, and be able to sell to those who can't plug in easily, sell them on something that will get, for example, 35% better mileage, plug in when you get a chance, and drives like a Honda. Bring back some of the engineering skills that Honda once stood for. And then start introducing a portfolio of EVs once people are more comfortable with the idea of plugging in. People seeing that they can easily use an EV for their daily errands with the gas engine never starting will eventually sell them on a future EV because that range anxiety will be lessened. The all EV leap is still a bridge too far, especially as recent sales numbers have shown. Baby steps. That's how you win people over.
Theflyersfan If this saves (or delays) an expensive carbon brushing off of the valves down the road, I'll take a case. I understand that can be a very expensive bit of scheduled maintenance.
Zipper69 A Mini should have 2 doors and 4 cylinders and tires the size of dinner plates.All else is puffery.
Theflyersfan Just in time for the weekend!!! Usual suspects A: All EVs are evil golf carts, spewing nothing but virtue signaling about saving the earth, all the while hacking the limbs off of small kids in Africa, money losing pits of despair that no buyer would ever need and anyone that buys one is a raging moron with no brains and the automakers who make them want to go bankrupt.(Source: all of the comments on every EV article here posted over the years)Usual suspects B: All EVs are powered by unicorns and lollypops with no pollution, drive like dreams, all drivers don't mind stopping for hours on end, eating trays of fast food at every rest stop waiting for charges, save the world by using no gas and batteries are friendly to everyone, bugs included. Everyone should torch their ICE cars now and buy a Tesla or Bolt post haste.(Source: all of the comments on every EV article here posted over the years)Or those in the middle: Maybe one of these days, when the charging infrastructure is better, or there are more options that don't cost as much, one will be considered as part of a rational decision based on driving needs, purchasing costs environmental impact, total cost of ownership, and ease of charging.(Source: many on this site who don't jump on TTAC the split second an EV article appears and lives to trash everyone who is a fan of EVs.)