With two of the world's most easily recognisable brand names it has always been a small player in the new car market. However, ChryslerJeep's niche could begin to grow next year when the franchise starts selling the equally high profile Dodge brand and begins to roll out a succession of new products. This is exactly what its 93-strong dealer network has been waiting for — especially with sales expected to fall from 16,230 in 2004 to under 16,000 this year. ‘2006 is our year' But UK managing director Simon Elliott confidently predicts 2006 will be the turnaround year for the franchise with sales exceeding 20,000 units — giving it its biggest year since selling 18,834 units in 2001. This year ChryslerJeep knew it had to tread water with its two biggest sellers reaching the end of their shelf lives. The old Grand Cherokee, which sold 4,534 in its best year, ran out in March with dealers having to wait until May for deliveries of the new model. Meanwhile, the current PT Cruiser will run out by the end of the year when dealers get a facelifted version to sell alongside the all-new cabriolet version. New models Before then the Chrysler line-up will be expanded with the new 300C executive class model in October followed by a recently announced Touring model. Meanwhile the Jeep line-up will be expanded with the seven-seater Commander. However, the most important launch for the franchise is likely to be the Dodge Caliber, which will see the US brand, best known for large pick-ups, debut in the UK next July with a five-door hatchback alternative to the Ford Focus. “It's been a frustrating and tough time for us and our dealers,” said Elliot, “we've been pushing the volume game with niche products. The new products will give us the infill we need to sell over 20,000 units next year.” The introduction of Dodge here has been on the cards since international plans for the brand were announced at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2004. The dealer network will start putting up signage promoting the badge from next April ahead of taking delivery of the Caliber in June. “All our dealers will sell Dodge. We're discussing formal five-year profit and volume plans with them and they can see the improvements the brand will make to their businesses,” said Elliott. Cost efficient With the franchise currently undergoing a corporate image revamp, Elliott says the addition of new signage and facilities will not add much cost to dealers. Furthermore they will only be expected to find showroom space for one display model. “The new look is very modular so it will be quite straightforward to add Dodge. We've been very pragmatic about this and reckon it will only cost the dealers between £5,000 and £10,000 to invest in Dodge and meet the block exemption standards,” he said. However, launching a new brand into Britain's mature new car market will not be an easy task — although Elliott believes he has achieved the first goal of getting the dealers and their staff on side. “We've run a Chrysler Group on the Move programme around the country with 38 meetings for the whole staff and we've been hugely encouraged by the feedback — they have high expectations for Dodge and the new products,” he said. Changing perceptions The next step will be to win over a car-buying public that will largely associate the Dodge brand with large chrome festooned pick-ups. “We have a big marketing job to do as customers who have been to America will associate the brand with big trucks,” said Elliot. “We have to re-educate those that think they know what the brand is about because our immediate proposition will be an affordable small family car that is an alternative to mainstream hatchbacks.” The marketing campaign has started off with the discoverdodge.com website but will be cranked up from March with mailer campaigns and teaser ads, followed by a television advertising campaign specifically for the Caliber. More growth With the new products and the addition of a new brand the franchise plans to grow its network by adding 12 sites over the next two years. Recent months have seen plenty of interest from dealers exiting the MG Rover franchise with four sites already signed up and ongoing conversations with others. The current make-up of the network is fairly evenly split between owner-drivers, small regional groups and plcs with only six showrooms sharing sites with sister company Mercedes-Benz. With all the launch activity over the coming months Elliott is encouraging dealers to look at their ChryslerJeep profitability levels and not be distracted by the other brands represented in their groups. “The bottom line is we need dealers who want ChryslerJeep for the right reasons, not merely to cover an overhead. We have an exciting future and can add value to businesses. This is not a quiet niche franchise — we're making a lot of noise so anyone wanting a quiet life should keep away from us,” he said. Chrysler's culture club With ChryslerJeep venturing into new market segments with the 300C and Dodge models, dealers can expect to find themselves talking to a new type of buyer so the franchise is introducing a Customer Culture Change programme to prepare the network. “We'll be increasing our market share and will be seeing customers we've never seen before,” said ChryslerJeep managing director Simon Elliott. “We expect conquest business from Audi, BMW and Mercedes and although we have high CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) scores we'll be dealing with customers with different expectations,” he said. Elliott said these areas were being addressed by the company's “heavyweight commitment” to staff training and by dealers investing in showroom makeovers covering a new signage programme and improving the interior look and feel. “Some dealers won't need to spend a penny as they are already up to standard but others will need to relocate to accommodate the extra products. We don't want gin palaces that lose money and we're having detailed conversations with every dealer,” he said.