4 Ways Jeep Can Put Chrysler on the Map in China

Unlike its Detroit rival General Motors (GM), Chrysler doesn't have much of a China business. GM sold 2.2 million vehicles in the Middle Kingdom last year. Chrysler sold 31,000. Obviously, given the rapid growth that the Chinese auto market is enjoying, Chrysler would like to improve that figure. Luckily, it's got Jeep to help out.

Jeep is Chrysler's best-known brand. It has international appeal, so it's only natural that Fiat (which has been running Chrysler since the 2009 bankruptcy) would want to use it to pry open the Chinese market. In order for Western automakers to do business in China, they have to be partnered with a Chinese manufacturer.

Fiat has this in the Guangzhou Automobile Group -- and now wants to use a new plant to build Jeeps and Chryslers for a Chinese buyership (Chrysler only exports to China now). According to the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler also wants to expand its dealer network in China. The goals are initially modest: 40,000 vehicles sold this year. But Jeep will be a big part of that. For good reason:

1. The SUVs are coming! The SUVs are coming! Jeep's whole brand image predated the advent of the big SUV, which is probably why it hasn't suffered the same downturn as the rest of the SUV market in the U.S. A Jeep is a Jeep: a ruggedly dependable vehicle that helped win World War II. This kind of anxiety isn't gripping the Chinese, however: They're ready to take to SUVs in a major way. In fact, industry analytics firm IHS Automotive is predicting that SUV sales will rise 33 percent in China through 2012. With those kinds of numbers, Chrysler ought to be able to establish itself in China very quickly.
2. Jeeps are simple. Chrysler doesn't have to do much to make Jeep appealing. It already has a global reputation and can be pitched to developing-consumers using essentially the same selling points that have always worked closer to home. This contrasts with what other automakers operating in China are dealing with. Not that it's some onerous exercise, but GM has been compelled to develop a broad lineup of cars under its Buick brand, to satisfy Chinese buyers' expectations and esthetic preferences. Many of these vehicles aren't sold in the U.S. Chrysler, by contrast, can just set up a plant and start stamping out Jeeps. Simple.
3. Jeeps inspire loyalty. This 2008 report on why Jeep is Jeep came out before Chrysler's bankruptcy, but it nails all the salient Jeep virtues -- and explains why at the time Chrysler itself thought of Jeep as a "tribal brand." So if Chrysler starts building Jeeps in China and selling more and more of them to the Chinese, it's a safe bet that it will continue selling them to the Chinese. Effectively, Jeep will become Chrysler's core Chinese brand. And the loyalty that Western owners feel toward their Jeeps will be replicated among a whole new cadre of Asian customers.
4. You lead with strength. Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne recognizes that Jeep is the best Chrysler's got. The brand has kept Chrysler afloat since the Detroit Meltdown and continues to prove that, even though battered by recent events, the company can still command respect (the auto press has been received Jeep redesigns pretty favorably). By comparison with Volkswagen and GM, Chrysler is barely a blip on the radar in China. But if the SUV market takes off, Chrysler has the best SUV brand for the ride.