'Chrysler Group introduces new brand, replaces some brand CEOs'

Chrysler Group introduces new brand, replaces some brand CEOs

10/26/09 07:54

The Chrysler group announced that it will be introducing a new brand name for its trucks, called Ram, in an effort to overhaul the company structure. Meanwhile, Chrysler top designer Ralph Gilles was announced to as the new CEO of the Dodge brand, which will now concentrate on cars only.

The structure overhaul came in after the company emerged from bankruptcy months ago with an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat. According to this article from AutoWeek.com, former Dodge CEO Michael Accavitti has resigned to pursue other interests.

Other brand managers who were assigned are Fred Diaz as CEO of the Ram brand, and Olivier Francois for the Chrysler brand, replacing Peter Fong, who has resigned for personal reasons. Meanwhile, Michael Manley will continue to be the brand CEO of the Jeep brand, with Gilles also continuing his job as head Chrysler designer. Furthermore, Francois will also retain his position as the CEO of Fiat's Lancia brand.

According to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, the reorganization will allow the Group to protect and develop the unique offerings within the Dodge brand.

One of Chrysler's major issues today is its weak lineup of small- and midsize vehicles. Its current offering in this category, the Sebring and Avenger, have gotten poor sales and poor quality reports. This will be soon replaced with midsize cars utilizing the Fiat technology, but this might not happen until November this year. In the meanwhile, the third-largest US automobile manufacturer will have to survive with its current shaky lineup.

By separating the Dodge from the Ram, the company hopes to improve its reputation among customers. This mimics what Marchionne did with Fiat, in which he successfully separated the commercial-car and passenger-car divisions.

No more loans from the federal government are in the pipeline as the company still tries to prove that it can still generated the much-needed cash for the automobile industry.

For more information, please refer to this article from AutoWeek.com.

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