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Bruce Newton17 Feb 2015
NEWS

Fiat Chrysler aims to double Oz sales

Huge model expansion the cornerstone of 80,000 annual sales target for 2018

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has set itself the task of almost doubling its sales over the next four years to become one of the most significant players in the Australian new vehicle sales industry.

The ambitious target revealed exclusively to motoring.com.au by new FCA Australia boss Pat Dougherty would mean combined Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional and Jeep sales reaching about 80,000 in 2018.

In 2014, FCA sold a record 43,100 vehicles in Australia according to official VFACTS figures, up 27 per cent from its 2013 total and previous record, 33,968.

Dougherty’s aggressive growth rate in an essentially static market anticipates:

>> Jeep becoming a top 10 brand
>> Expansion into major segments such as small car and compact SUV with price competitive models that would sell in significant volume
>> Growth from Fiat as its model line-up expands
>> Gaining access to volume production from the “industrialisation” of the Asian region so lower cost production sites and free trade agreements can be exploited
>> The successful relaunch and sales expansion of Alfa Romeo

And as already outlined Dougherty wants to access the huge Australian pick-up market with the next-generation RAM truck and mooted Jeep utility, as well as by ensuring the next generation of right-hand drive V8 Dodge SRT and Hellcat performance vehicles are offered here.

“With what we are planning I don’t think it is outside the realm of possibility to grow our business as quickly and as much as we have in the past four years again,” said Dougherty. “Almost double.”

An 80,000-unit FCA would be one of the biggest automotive groups active in Australia. Using 2014 numbers as a guide, it would be behind only some of the heaviest hitters such as the Toyota, Holden, Mazda and Hyundai, while duking it out on equivalent volume levels with VW Group and Ford and ahead of Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Doubling local sales is an even more ambitious target than FCA’s global plan, which foresees a climb from 4.4 million in 2013 to seven million in 2018.

Dougherty, an American, took over from Australian Veronica Johns as MD last December, and has quickly gained his own aggressive vision for the group’s future.

He believes one of the keys to achieving his aims will be closer ties with the group’s head offices in Turin and Auburn Hills and getting senior execs out to Australia to view the situation themselves.

One of the first of them will be FCA’s international product planning chief Stephen J Bartoli, who visits later this month and Dougherty says is not only key to accessing more right-hand drive models but also opening up cheaper manufacturing sources for Australia.

“There is this big push for industrialisation in this part of the world and in so doing Australia is an important market that needs to be part of that plan. And in some cases Australia needs to make the case to be part of that plan.

“And it’s not the business case as much as it is more about what do we want to be in Australia? I think we have a bigger vision than what we have done so far.

“But it is all dependant on having a presence in the segments where we don’t have a presence. So we are not just going to take share in the markets we compete in today. Our ambition is to take share, but there are big pockets of the market where we don’t have a presence – or if we do have a presence then we are a bit player.”

Undoubtedly top of mind in terms of volume for Dougherty are models such as the entry-level Jeep Renegade, the 2016 Chrysler 100 (C-segment) small car – which shares its ‘Compact US Wide’ underpinnings with the Dodge Dart – and will feature a nine-speed automatic transmission and the new Hurricane four-cylinder engine; the 2016 Jeep Compass/Patriot compact SUV replacement, also based on Compact US Wide.

“We need to be in there — it’s a big segment. We touch the C-segment but only a little,” Dougherty said. “We can be more competitive there.”

Jeep is already FCA’s dominant volume force with more than 30,000 sales in 2014. Climbing into the top 10 from that position based on 2014 figures is certainly achievable with Honda in close reach.

“Jeep is going to grow in this country,” Dougherty declared. “I see the Renegade coming in and being stronger and we think we are going to do pretty well with that, then we have other refreshes, renewals and new products on the Jeep side that are going to keep us very competitive.”

Dougherty said Fiat would be boosted by the arrival of the Renegade’s close relation, the Fiat 500X, in late 2015.

“It will be a good volume car for us. For once we have a four-door Fiat that will meet and exceed the customers’ expectations in this market … then beyond that we have future Fiat products coming behind that. No secret we are doing the joint sports car with Mazda. It’s not a big volume but it will be a nice lead car for the brand.”

Dougherty was speaking at the Australian launch of the Alfa Romeo 4C coupe in Sydney on the weekend – a car that effectively acts as a reboot for the storied Italian brand in Australia.

A whole slew of new rear- and all-wheel drive models are expected to start arriving here from 2016, beginning with a BMW 3 Series rival commonly referred to as Giulia. That car is scheduled to be unveiled on June 24 in Milan, the company’s 105th birthday.

Look out for motoring.com.au’s first Australian drive review of the 4C this Thursday.

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