Chrysler Wants Brand Separation in Showrooms

Chrysler Group is really taking change seriously, as it decided to talk to dealers about a proposal to divide showrooms into "salons" featuring each of the company's four vehicle brands: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck. Things are not certain yet, Chrysler does not have a template for the changes, but the idea is part of the five-year plan.

"The brand CEOs are all looking at what kind of experience they want customers to have," Kathy Graham, a Chrysler spokeswoman, said according to Autonews. According to her, company officials have told dealers that Chrysler would make funds available to support such changes if a plan requires investment.

CEO Sergio Marchionne has restructured Chrysler by separating its brands into individual business units with full profit and loss responsibility. "We have managed to unbundle the brands that were indiscriminately commingled within this group," Marchionne told journalists Nov. 4. "We will cater to a wider portion of the North American consumer market."

Chrysler’s Project Genesis to put all four brands under one roof in all its dealerships is still in the works, and Peter Grady, vice president of network development, wants the process to be completed by the end of 2011. Still some dealers have been working with some ideas to separate the brands.

“I think what you will see in time is brands are going to become more distinct," said Bill Golling, owner of Golling Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Some of the approaches do not require a lot of investment, said Gollong. "There are other ways to do this besides just brick, mortar and tile," he says.