About 1,735 Chrysler Group dealers will gather in Florida on Tuesday to see new models the automaker will launch over the next few months.
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Dealers will see everything from the new Dodge Durango to the Fiat 500 and planned updates for a variety of vehicles including the Dodge Challenger and minivans. They will also hear a renewed call for more dealerships to remain open on Saturdays, Bloomberg News reported.
The report said this would be the first time chief executive Sergio Marchionne has spoken to dealers since he took over the bankrupt Chrysler in June 2009 and hosted an eight-hour meeting with the media in November where he shared his five-year survival plan for Chrysler.
Although dealers were annoyed, Marchionne refused to conduct a meeting until his vehicle plans were in place.
The expected attendance on Tuesday – over 75% of Chrysler’s network – will be a record for any dealer announcement show, company spokesman Ralph Kisiel said. Marchionne will be joined on stage by the CEOs representing the Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Fiat North America brands.
They will be asked about a dozen broad questions during a 90-minute session based on input from dealers from around the country, Kelleher said. For example, executives will be asked to explain the decision behind introducing the Fiat brand in the US after almost a 30-year absence.
Mopar chief executive Pietro Gorlier will also address the group and intends to “strongly encourage” more dealers to remain open on Saturdays while also operating Mopar Express Lanes to handle quick repairs and oil changes.
Currently, 68% of Chrysler’s dealers keep Saturday hours. The goal is 80% by the end of 2011.
“We have to respond to customers and customers shop or get their oil changed on Saturdays,” Gorlier said in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal about his push to keep dealers open. “Those that stay open on Saturdays have had tremendous success and their oil change business has increased by 20%.”
In some markets where dealers were closed on Saturday, Gorlier sent out a crew of people who photographed Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles in oil change shops. He then sent those photos to the dealers.
Mopar will back the Saturday opening by extending the company’s dealers technician assistance centre and will keep its part shipment operations running on Saturday starting in January.
