Chrysler sketches out a future
The first pictures of a revitalised Chrysler group, post its rescue by Fiat, are beginning to appearChrysler Group LLC provided the first hints of how it is shaping its Fiat-fired future during this year's Frankfurt motor show.
Speaking to US authority Automotive News at the show, Chrysler decision-makers revealed the basic outline of how the company would reform itself to meet future challenges. Impressively, they don't seem to be messing around, with many of the plans already taking shape.
Central to the new Chrysler-Fiat deal is a plan to protect the group from market fluctuations by having a presence in all segments. At the same time it will redefine its three major bands and lessen the dependence on large utes and SUVs.
Under the new plan, the company will develop distinctly separate identities for each nameplate.
Chrysler, for example, will head further upmarket, recalling the glories of past models and sitting a notch above the likes of Cadillac and Lincoln.
Dodge will extend its already performance-biased image with an emphasis on driving dynamics and fuel economy, while Jeep will centre its image on the Wrangler model.
The new-look Chrysler will come more into focus when the group announces its new product plan some time within the next two months.
The word from other US carmakers similarly afflicted by declining sales is less clear, apart from GM's announcement that it will be investing heavily in its plant in Flint, Michigan, to start building the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado crew cab utility from July 2010. Automotive News reports that, amid the gloom of languid new-car sales, one bright spot is on-the-rise demand for light-duty utes.
The Flint facility currently produces heavy-duty GM crew cabs.
In the current sales race, Chrysler appeared in August to be in the process of arresting its rate of decline by recording a nine per cent drop on July 2008 figures. GM sales showed a 19 per cent drop for the same period while Ford, surprisingly, was 2.3 per cent ahead of July 2008.
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