Japan isn’t a huge market for any of the Detroit automakers, but Chrysler is hopeful the launch of its new Jeep Grand Cherokee there will boost sales by over 20 percent.
Japan was once a decent market for Chrysler – the Detroit automaker sold 15,000 vehicles annually there as recently as 1996 – but sales totaled just 2,350 units in 2010. The Jeep Grand Cherokee accounted for only 88 of those sales, but Chrysler has bigger expectations for the revised version of the SUV.
Chrysler is expecting to sell between 500 and 1,000 units of the Grand Cherokee per year, which would make it its most popular model in Japan. Chrysler’s current best-seller in Japan is the Jeep Patriot, which managed 760 sales last year.
Chrysler is also planning to launch the new version of its 300C sedan in Japan, but it won’t arrive until late 2011 or early 2012. The new Chrysler 200 sedan will arrive even later, slated for a late 2012 or early 2013 market launch. The 300C is currently the only Chrysler-badged vehicle available in Japan.
Dealership shortfall
Thanks to a partnership with Honda in the 1990s, Chrysler vehicles were sold through 2,000 stores within Honda’s dealer network. However, that deal has since expired, leaving Chrysler to rely on its own dealership network. Chrysler currently has 52 outlets throughout Japan, but is hoping to raise that number to 55 by year’s end.
The new Grand Cherokee is scheduled to arrive in Japanese showrooms on March 12.
References
1.’Chrysler has grand…’ view
