Chrysler..Dodge.. Gone ?? TAURUS here 2013 ???

[csv8]

It's all uphill for battling American brands
RICHARD BLACKBURN
July 10, 2010


Chrysler claims the new Jeep Grand Cherokee represents vastly improved product quality.
Chrysler and Dodge are facing the grim prospect of joining a long list of US failures in the Australian market.

They came, they saw, but they've failed to conquer. American cars appear to be on the nose with Australian buyers, with Chrysler and Dodge both struggling to sell cars Down Under.

While most brands have bounced back from the global financial crisis in style this year, the two US brands have seen sales nosedive even further.

Chrysler sales are down almost 50 per cent, while Dodge sales have more than halved. The two brands are in danger of becoming the latest in a string of spectacular failures by US cars in the local market.

Often derided for their poor build quality, sloppy road holding and cheap cabin materials, American-built cars have come and gone from our roads with monotonous regularity in recent years.

Ford has failed with its mid-size Taurus, Probe and Mustang sports cars, Explorer four-wheel-drive and F-Series truck - a worrying sign for a company that is seriously considering replacing the home-grown Falcon with the US-designed Taurus after 2013.

General Motors has met with similar resistance to its US-made vehicles, with its behemoth off-roaders, the Hummer and Suburban, now gone from the local market.

GM also failed with an attempt to introduce the luxury Cadillac brand into Australia - the company pulled the pin on the plan just weeks from its official launch - while it recently shelved plans to import the Camaro sports car that was engineered in Australia for Americans.

The introduction of a Free Trade Agreement with the US in 2005, which meant zero tariffs for US imports, has done little to boost American brands; both Chrysler and Jeep sold fewer cars last year than they did in 2004, while Dodge has failed to make an impact since its introduction in August 2006.

US brands have fallen victim to the same buyer trends that have seen sales of locally built cars dwindle in recent years; they make mostly larger cars and four-wheel-drives, while most people are downsizing.

Overseas, the Dodge Viper and Chrysler PT Cruiser have both been discontinued in recent weeks, while GM killed off Pontiac and is winding down the Hummer brand.

Last year, two-thirds of Chrysler's Australian sales came from just two models, the 300C large sedan and the Voyager people-mover. At Dodge, the situation is dire, with the Avenger gone and the Nitro and Caliber attracting just 17 sales between them in June.

The Chrysler group in Australia comprises the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands and has withdrawn six vehicles - the Chrysler Sebring sedan, PT Cruiser hatch and Cabrio, the Dodge Avenger and the Jeep Compass and Commander - from a range of 16 in recent months, while the Chrysler Crossfire was withdrawn in 2008.

Jeep sales have proven a bright spot, rebounding from a poor 2009, and spokesman Dean Bonthorne says the group is "absolutely 100 per cent" committed to the local market.

"We're really pleased with how Jeep's going," he says. "We're in a record period for sales and new models like the Patriot have been really well received into the market and the Wrangler just continues to sell.

"With Chrysler and Dodge, we're in a changeover period with models right now and we've had some limitations with stock availability over the last six months, which has amplified the figures a little bit and made it seem worse than it is.

"But there's absolutely fantastic product on the horizon so we're definitely forging ahead and look forward to the brands being very successful in the future."

Bonthorne admits the brands have been hamstrung by not having smaller vehicles but says the alliance with Italian car maker Fiat will solve that problem.

"The plan globally is for Chrysler to be able to access some of the smaller, more fuel-efficient powertrains and platforms that Fiat has on offer," he says.

"It's definitely not something for the next year or two but perhaps shortly after that."

Bonthorne claims the quality issues that have plagued the group - Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge regularly fall below the average in US quality surveys - are in the past, with the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, due early next year, leading the way.

"It's absolute night and day with anything from the past that's been produced by the Chrysler group and it's definitely the way forward," he says. "Quality is going to absolutely skyrocket."