Chrysler’s revving its engine with remodels
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JEREMY HOBSON: Taxpayer owned GM goes public on Thursday. And it’s raising its offering price from $29 a share to around $32 a share thanks to strong investor demand. Meanwhile, GM’s bailed out competitor Chrysler is rolling out revamped versions of some old favorites including the Grand Caravan minivan and the Avenger Sedan. Italy’s FIAT now runs the U.S. carmaker. And it wants to get drivers excited about Chryslers again.
Marketplace’s Alisa Roth reports.
Alisa Roth: Some cars have redesigned interiors, while others sport new engines. The company even rechristened the struggling Sebring. It’s now the 200 instead, playing off the success of Chrysler’s sedan, called the 300.
Jesse Toprak is an analyst at TrueCar.com.
Jesse Toprak: These are more or less stop gap measures. I don’t think necessarily this is going to cause a big flood to Chrysler dealerships.
But that’s exactly what Chrysler needs right now. Mary Ann Keller is an independent industry analyst. She says a lot of Chrysler’s sales are to places like rental car companies that are updating their fleets.
Mary Ann Keller: For Chrysler to succeed, it cannot rely on fleet customers. That’s a stagnant and static market. The growth has to come from a rebound in consumer spending.
There is hope for Chrysler though. The ‘new’ Jeep Cherokee has been selling well and Fiat will introduce a whole new line of Italian vehicles next year.
I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.
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