Jeep is looking at global growth upwards of 20 percent this year to 1.2 million units and that’s before the brand truly ramps up in China.
Could it be possible Jeep’s success is hiding what ails other brands at the newly-formed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles?
Jeep is on track to record a best ever year in 2015 in terms of unit sales with many of the brand’s models returning higher profit margins than those at other marques under the FCA umbrella. However, there are still problems reports The Detroit Bureau, like the struggles with where to build Jeep’s next generation Wrangler.
“It’s a very important and very sensitive decision,†stated Michael Manley, president of the Jeep brand.
The utility-lifestyle brand is also running at or near capacity at their plants, just keeping up with demand, all the while being leveraged in order to prop up other brands financially. Money once meant to redesign the Grand Cherokee has been earmarked for Alfa Romeo. This seems to be true for other models at Jeepas well. On top of it all, Sergio Marchionne wants a Range Rover rivaling Jeep to conquest even greater transaction prices. If such a model existed, FCA could use even more cash to fuel development of new and redesigned models at other brands, but it seems Marchionne might be counting his chickens before they hatch as he drives Wrangler-loads of cash to Italy before such a Range Rover-ish model can come to fruition.
At some point, FCA’s Jeep gravy train is going to come to a halt, and dumping money into brands that look to only stroke the ego of FCA executives – instead of just dumping the brands themselves – will result in what Marchionne has been saying is the cardinal sin of the automotive industry: wasted capital.
Maybe the best way to save money, Mr. Marchionne, is the reduce the number of brands emblazoned on those dealer signs.