Chrysler is looking to make inroads into the competitive midsize market segment with the news 2015 Chrysler 200.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has grown faster than its rivals in North America and plans to expand sales by more than 48% during the next five years as its key brands continue to reach more consumers in U.S., Canada and Mexico.
FCA is betting that the NAFTA region will experience consistent growth over the next five years, reaching 18.7 million units in 2018 thanks to moderate economic growth, positive job outlook and efficient credit markets, noted Reid Bigland, head of sales for the Chrysler Group. In addition, the age of the vehicle fleet in North America continues to rise as consumer confidence improves, he said.
Sergio Marchionne, FCA chief executive officer, said the company has laid down an optimistic expansion of its business across North America. Sales are expected to jump 1 million more cars in 2018 than it did in 2013 when it sold 2.1 million vehicles. Chrysler sales should increase to 2.9 million units, while sales of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari will reach 200,000 units, Marchionne said.
Chrysler has already staged a dramatic comeback from the miserable sales in 2009 when the company filed bankruptcy and sales dropped to 1.2 million units. Between 2009 and 2013, Chrysler Group sales grew by 82% or 900,000 units, Bigland noted, making it the fastest growing brand in the NAFTA region where 20 different companies compete for sales.
The growth, which included more substantial increase in market share, which went from 8.1% in at the end of 2009 to 12.5% at the end of March, exceeded the targets originally set by Marchionne in the autumn of 2009, which many analysts thought were unrealistic.
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Rebuilding Chrysler’s sales required an $8 billion investment in rebuilding Chrysler’s “industrial infrastructure,” Marchionne said. “We underestimated the state of disrepair of the company’s industrial base,” he said, following spin off by Daimler AG and acquisition by Cerberus, which preceded the 2009 bankruptcy.
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Going forward, the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Fiat brands are all expected to gain sales in North America as the add new models. Chrysler alone is expected to increase sales by 132%, while Jeep sales increase by 44% and Ram sales increase by 34%. Alfa-Romeo sales are expected to grow to 150,000 units. Sales of the Dodge brand vehicles are expected to shrink by 10 percent as Dodge withdraws from the minivan segment where it has been a significant factor for 30 years.
FCA’s market share in NAFTA and the U.S. should increase from 11.5% to 15% due to expansion of the company’s product line
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Overall, FCA expects its global sales to grow from 4.4 million units last year to 7 million units in 2018.