Quote:
Originally Posted by DealerEx
If it wasn't for Jeep and Ram truck sales they'd be out of business in the US already. The passenger car business is dying rapidly and the entries they have in that segment are pitiful. The Fiat 500 is a piece of junk with a terrible reputation. The Chrysler Brand is reduced to the 300 and the Pacifica. The 200 was a dog with poor quality and a throw away powertrain. The 300 was a good car, but it's a 15 year old platform with with very few changes from the 2005 models. The minivan market is pretty much dead in the water, also having been taken over by compact and midsized SUVs. The Dodge brand has the Challenger and Charger that sell, but the Caravan and Journey have very poor resale value and low volume. Since the "Merger of Equals" with Daimler the once great Chrysler Corp of the late 80's under Iacocca has steadily gone downhill. Trucks and Jeeps are it's only salvation--until Fiat and Peugeot screw that up too. Just stop and think about that -- in what world would a combination of Fiat and Peugeot ever be viewed as capable of restoring the company to greatness.
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I apologize for not responding sooner. Work has been very busy over the last few months, but things have quieted down a bit. But, I have been thinking of your post ever since I read it.
You are correct that Jeep and Ram are keeping the whole enterprise afloat. That is why they have been getting the priority of investment and models.
Fiat is a lost cause in this country and a total failure, but nobody in the media is saying a word about it. I looked at the YTD sales figures a few days ago and I thought it was impossible to have a 50% decrease from practically nothing. Yet, Fiat has managed to sell
52.18% fewer vehicles so far this year compared to last year (3,569 vs. 7,464)!
Fiat might be lucky to get over 5,000 vehicles sold for ALL of 2020. Wasn't this the brand that Sergio promised would sell 50,000 units annually and eventually grow to 100,000 annual sales? Wasn't this the brand American consumers were screaming to come over to the United States because everybody wanted one?
As for Alfa Romeo, I don't know what to think. It has a mixed reputation. When magazines received their first test models, they all kinds of quality problems with them, but the vehicles performed great (when working). Since then, I have not heard much about quality problems, but the sales numbers don't reflect hot products either. Is Alfa Romeo's reputation permanently stained? Is Alfa ever going to be relevant against the Germans in this market? But, FCA (soon to be Stellantis) will throw euro after euro to grow this brand in the hopes that it will some day dominate the Germans. We'll see how that works.
When it comes to Chrysler, is the brand even relevant in the American market place? Does anybody even care about it? The Chrysler website shows Chrysler consists of 4 vehicles - Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Pacifica hybrid, Chrysler Voyager, and the Chrysler 300. The 300 is in total freefall (I think it may sell 15,000 units for all of 2020) and the Pacifica is not the number 1 selling retail minivan (Honda Odyssey). I will go on to say that the Pacifica is nowhere near as successful as the original Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, but it isn't a bad vehicle. So, why change the names? So, the question becomes, what is Chrysler exactly? How will Stellantis position this brand?
Finally, Dodge is nothing more than the Vin Diesel of the automotive world. What used to be one of the top 5 selling brands in the country is now something like 15th or 16th behind VW, Mercedes, with Mazda nipping at its heels. With the loss of the Caravan and Journey earlier this year, I have to wonder what Dodge sales will look like next year. Can Dodge hold off Mazda from out selling it next year?
To answer your final question, in what world would Fiat and Peugeot be seen as saviors to the once great Chrysler Corp.? I'm afraid to say the media, the Mopar community, dealership community, etc... Yes, Stellantis is being promoted as the second coming with the Fiat and Peugeot family having majority control over the company.