NEWS
Jeep aiming for top ten
Hints of LCVs, and if new models fire, Jeep could be a top ten brand in its own right Down UnderJeep is gunning for a spot in the Australian new car top ten. And if key new models attract reasonable buyer support, and long rumoured entries into the LCV market surface, the iconic off-road brand is odds-on to hit its target.
Part of the Fiat Chrysler stable, Jeep sold around 22,000 units Down Under in 2013 – a 23 per cent increase on 2012. That number was almost double the number of cars sold under the rest of the group’s brands (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat and Fiat Professional) combined, but still around 18,000 units shy of the volume required to grab a top-ten spot.
But hints of an entry into the LCV marketplace and the arrival of all-new key medium and small SUVs this year – and next – look set to increase Jeep’s local volume substantially.
Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show overnight, global Jeep brand boss and head of Asia pacific for Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA), Mike Manley hinted the off-road brand could enter the LCV market. Although he dodged answering the question in detail, he suggested more details would surface as part of FCA’s global strategy announcements in May.
“To do that [be a top ten brand], I would have to compete with the pickup segment wouldn’t I?” Manley teased.
“You’ll have to wait til May. If I told you [now], I wouldn’t be here in May,” he said.
Manley says Jeep will grow its global sales from around 731,000 to more than 1.0m units in 2014. Key to this growth, and the brand’s march towards the top ten Down Under, is the Renegade compact SUV (pictured) launched at Geneva and new midsized Cherokee.
Much delayed but now on-sale in the USA, the new Jeep Cherokee is set to hit Australia dealers in June of this year. The replacement for the KK series first released in 2008, the new KL series is expected to appeal to a wider audience, thanks to its promised better on-road dynamics. A Trailhawk version will be targeted at more serious offroaders.
In 2013, the Cherokee contributed just 82 units to the brand’s local sales total. In the VFACTS Medium SUV segment in which the vehicle competes, the top three sellers all move more than 1100 units per month.
Strong hopes too are held for the just-debuted Renegade Small SUV. Jeep’s first entrant into what is set to be a real growth segment, the Renegade will not go on sale in Australia until late next year but expect it to land with a bang. Australia’s three top-selling Small SUVs all logged more than 800 registrations per month – the top seller, Hyundai’s iX35 almost double that.
With moderate sales success, the two new vehicles could almost double Jeep’s volume Down Under – enough to move both Subaru and Honda out of the top ten.
Indeed, Subaru arguably has the most to lose if Jeep’s new model assault is successful. The Japanese brand’s XV and Forester softroaders accounted for almost 61 per cent of Aussie sales in 2013.
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Written byMike Sinclair
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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