Aussie Dodge Charger plan stalled

The project to get the Dodge Charger and Challenger muscle-cars into Australian Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) showrooms has been put on the backburner.

Instead, the local arm of FCA is focussed on its comprehensive reboot plan, which it will reveal to dealers and the public in February.

While publicly focussed on Jeep, it will also deal with the other brands FCA sells here; Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Fiat and Fiat Professional, as it looks to revitalise its business.

“I’m a petrol-head so I love the V8 and everything that goes with it,” new FCA Australia managing director and CEO Kevin Flynn told carsales.com.au when asked about the prospects for the Dodge duo Down Under.

“But in all fairness my appraisal is of the business as I have inherited it to date. We can always look at what other opportunities are down the road.

“At the moment I think it’s absolutely imperative to focus on the core and once we are confident in our handling of the core, then we can understand more.”

There have been several attempts to get the Challenger/Charger to Australia over the years. Just to confuse things, in North America the Challenger is the two-door and the Charger the four-door.

In Australia, whether the plan has been ex-factory production or local right-hand drive conversion by the Walkinshaw Group, it’s been envisaged the Challenger would be rebadged Charger in an attempt to capitalise on memories of the Chrysler built in Adelaide between 1972 and 1978.

But neither scenario is actively under consideration right now.

“A lot of these things can become interesting and relevant in developing the business further once you’ve fixed your main areas,” Flynn said.

“I know exactly where I have to focus and I am not going to get distracted.”

Flynn made it clear that other projects mooted by FCA’s Aussie outpost in the past, such as OEM sourcing of RAM full-size pick-ups – which are currently converted locally by ASV – or the Australian sale of RAM’s all-new mid-size metric tonne ute would have to wait until after February.

“We have to be on the job 100 per cent on what’s in our portfolio right now.”

Flynn, who has been in charge for three months, is developing a comprehensive reboot plan for FCA in Australia.

Every brand he manages here except Chrysler – which has been bolstered by a NSW Highway patrol deal for the only model it sells, the 300C -- is down on sales year-on-year.

In particular, there has been speculation about the future of Fiat, while Alfa’s global struggles to re-establish itself have been reflected in Australia.

Asked if FCA was committed to the future of those brands in Australia, Flynn said:

“Yeah! Certainly the way we are looking at the business at the moment I need to find the solutions with our team for all of our brands.”

On Alfa in Australia, he said: “It’s very much part of our core and I want to see how we make that a better business proposition.”

And Fiat: “I am very interested to understand how Fiat can work for us all and the direction it is going to go in terms of its product portfolio. So, we still have our eyes on it and seeing how we can make it something of relevance here.”

Flynn said the February reboot plan would benefit all the brands.

“Particularly when we look at aftersales and technical support, competence, reaction and that sort of stuff, it can go across all the brands,” he said. “That is, in fact, the design.

“You have got your brands at the front and your infrastructure supporting that and it’s pointless doubling up resources because it’s got a different brand on it.

“We are supporting the customers as a whole. Obviously Jeep is a big part of our operations and that is where the focus is going right now, but we are looking at the business holistically.”