{"id":23646,"date":"2019-04-12T17:01:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T21:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=23646"},"modified":"2019-04-12T17:01:01","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T21:01:01","slug":"jeep-mega-brand-transforms-fiat-chryslers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/jeep-mega-brand-transforms-fiat-chryslers-future","title":{"rendered":"Jeep mega-brand transforms Fiat Chrysler’s future"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"20192019 Jeep\u00ae Wrangler Rubicon\u00a0(Photo: FCA US LLC, \u00a9 2018 FCA US LLC)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The Detroit auto industry is undergoing historic change as General Motors and Ford place big bets on the future of mobility with bold investments in autonomous and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most fundamental change in Detroit is coming from the smallest of the Big Three, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, where a new Jeep mega-brand has emerged to put the company on its firmest footing in decades.<\/p>\n

Traditionally the most fragile of the home automakers, the now Italian-owned company has needed transfusion from the U.S. government twice in the last 40 years as its volume Chrysler and Dodge brands struggled to stay afloat in a market besieged by cheaper, more reliable Japanese imports.<\/p>\n

That has changed dramatically this decade as Jeep has emerged as the company\u2019s volume brand and Chrysler and Dodge have faded to niche status. Indeed, Jeep was the badge that kick-started the SUV revolution three decades ago. Today, it is not only considered the pre-eminent utility brand with the highest transaction prices in segment, it is one of the most recognized brands in the world.<\/p>\n

“The foresight that the leadership team had five or six years ago was genius,\u201d says Jeep North America chief Scott Tallon. \u201cIt was the right time to make those decisions and let them develop, and we have been very fortunate and we will stay hungry in the marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Significantly, this brand-build has been the focus of Fiat Chrysler’s expansion efforts \u2013 not autonomy or electrification, like its Detroit peers.<\/p>\n

FCA CEO Mike Manley says Jeep is committed to offering autonomous and electric features in its vehicles by 2021, but it is not on the expensive, technological frontier with new brands and platforms like GM (GM Cruise\/new EV platform). It appears content, instead, to partner with other companies (Waymo) on autonomy while offering hybrids on existing gas-powered platforms.<\/p>\n

Jeep sales numbers tell the story.<\/p>\n

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