Jeep Hopes to Increase Overseas Sales by 20% in 2011

Chrysler's Jeep brand hopes its newly revamped lineup will attract 20 percent more customers in overseas markets next year. Jeep released new versions of its popular Grand Cherokee and Compass models, which are expected to boost the automaker's sales.

“I am looking for our international business to grow significantly, in excess of 20 percent,” Jeep CEO Mike Manley said at a press event today.

“Initial orders from the U.S. and our international markets indicate that the demand will be significantly higher than the previous Compass,” he added.

Jeep sold 60,888 vehicles outside North America in 2009. Through the end of November, Jeep sold 67,029 vehicles outside of North America, a 22 percent increase over the same period last year. The Compass accounted for 11,716 sales outside of North America through November of this year, a 47 percent increase over the same period of 2009.

“Some of that has been facilitated by our focus on Jeep in those markets and some of that has been facilitated by continued growth in Asia-Pacific,” Manley said.

A fair 20 to 30 percent share of the sales outside of North America are expected to be diesels, with most of them being sold in Europe. All Jeep models will have a diesel option. The Grand Cherokee will receive a diesel engine by March. However, diesel models aren't that popular in the US, so Jeep doesn't plan on offering a diesel engine in any Jeep model sold in North America.

Meanwhile, Chrysler's plans of building Jeep SUVs at Fiat's plant in Turin, Italy surfaced earlier this month. The plant would have a capacity of 280,000 vehicles annually, more than half of which will be exported to the United States.