Chrysler UK looks to new Jeep Cherokee to boost sales

Chrysler until last year was part of the worldwide DaimlerChrysler operation. Following the split Chrysler is now 80 per cent owned by the US private equity firm Cerberus but it fortunes have been badly hit by the downturn in the US market.

Following the restructuring in the US, Chrysler UK Limited was formed last November to import and market the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands. Their cause has not been helped by falling sales in the overall UK car market hit by the credit-crunch, high fuel prices and a run-out and rationalization of models within the Chrysler and Jeep ranges.

The recent departure of their well-respected Managing Director Simon Elliott has been reported to have unsettled their 80-strong UK dealer network as well.

A new Managing Director Federico Goretti, formerly MD of Chrysler Italy, the brand’s largest European market, will be leading a Chrysler UK dealer conference in September and top of the agenda will be the company’s proposals to improve dealer profitability in a difficult new car market. The UK remains Chrysler’s third-largest market outside the USA.

Due to the run-out of certain models and the fall in demand for some 4x4s and big-engined passenger cars, the Chrysler's brand UK sales have fallen by 16.4 per cent for the first seven months of this year, Jeep sales are down by 17.5 per cent but their Dodge budget priced brand has seen an increase of 60 per cent.

Overall the Chrysler group’s UK sales performance so far in 2008 shows just 10,716 registrations in total, a fall of 533 units or 5.3 per cent. In 2007 Chrysler’s UK sales totalled 18,552 units for the complete year and in 2006 a combined total of 20,451 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep new vehicles were sold.

Chrysler’s run-out and rationalization of their ranges sees the Chrysler Voyager replaced in the line up by a new Dodge Journey MPV, the Crossfire Coupe and Convertible are on run out supply as is the PT Cruiser.

Chrysler’s revised range consists of the Sebring Saloon and Cabriolet, 300C Saloon and Touring and Grand Voyager. The Dodge range consists of the Caliber, Avenger, Nitro and the all-new Journey models.

The 4x4 iconic Jeep range is made up of Wrangler 3/5 door models, the Compass, the Patriot (now Jeep’s best selling model), the all-new Cherokee, the recently revised Grand Cherokee and the Commander.

Being launched to the UK media this week the new Jeep Cherokee is a mid-sized five-seat 4x4 with a 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine. The vehicle is available in one high level of specification but with the choice of automatic and manual transmission options.

Prices are £24,595 for the Limited 6-speed manual model and £25,595 for the Limited 5-speed automatic version.

This year Chrysler Group UK expects to sell around 500 units of the new Jeep Cherokee 2.8 Limited, 85 per cent of them automatic models.

Asked to provide sales targets for the new model for next year a spokesperson for Chrysler Group UK said it was too soon to forecast sales, it all depended on the state of SUV and 4x4 sales in the UK in the light of the economic situation.

Nigel Land, Marketing Director of Chrysler UK said, “Our marketing effort for the new Cherokee will focus on existing Jeep customers who want to update their 4x4 with an authentic modern Jeep with a host of improvements including better fuel economy.”

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that for the first six months of this year sales of all makes of SUV/4x4/Dual Purpose vehicles were down by 1.98 per cent to 87,316 registrations, not as large a fall as industry pundits were predicting under the current economic climate.

UK new car registration figures also released by The SMMT yesterday show July’s overall new car sales were down 13 per cent, the third successive month of falling figures and the largest fall since December 2006. For the year to date new car sales are down 2.96 per cent.

In July both the private and fleet sales sectors saw sales decline but diesel models showed a 7.3 per cent increase for the year to date and demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles increased by nearly 20 per cent in July.

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