Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says history can repeat itself as far as he is concerned. He was speaking to the Council for the United States and Italy in Washington where he said him turning Chrysler around would be no miracle but simply a commitment “to the execution of a few strong and precise choices that will trigger rapid change.” Three years ago he saved Fiat from a certain industry death.
Marchionne, who is also CEO of Fiat, will attempt to do what Renault/ Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn did which is to turn around two near-bankruptcy companies. Chrysler was already gone through all that and now needs extensive work to make things tick again. The charismatic Italian reckons him and his team are up to the task.
Under his belt are the brands Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep among others. I agree with Serge “Houdini”; Chrysler CAN be cured. But the only way to do it is to turn the company into a Mercedes-Benz. Laugh if you want but a high-quality premium Chrysler would make serious money. Think of it as a Lexus trying to be a BMW. Audi was in the same space 15 years ago and look where they are today. Jeep needs to go the Land Rover route, that is to say improve design, quality and customer service. Sceptics might argue that Alfa Romeo, Fiat’s premium brand, is still not competitive with the Germans so how can Chrysler? It’s a valid question but the main difference is that Alfa is largely niche and concentrated in Europe whereas Chrysler is a true international brand. More importantly Chrysler is American which gives it a major head start in terms of a sales footprint. Unfortunately Dodge doesn’t have much of a future unless it turns itself into a Volkswagen by going mass-market. Again, new high quality products would be needed, and fast.
Chrysler needs new, premium and great quality cars to compete head-on with the Germans. Anything less will not work, regardless of what Serdini says.
1 comment:
I agree wholeheartedly. Chrysler is a rough gem
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