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September 5th, 2008 by Bill Cawthon
Chrysler will cut either the Dodge Nitro or Jeep Liberty from its lineup by the end of 2012. Although there has been no official announcement, the plan was confirmed yesterday by Steve Landry, Executive Vice President of North American sales.
Speaking with reporters on a conference call, Landry said, “As we move toward 2012, we won’t have this dual badging of products and duplicating products.”
“If you put both the sales of Liberty or Nitro together it is doing what we want it to do,” Landry added.
Chrysler sees cutting duplicate models as a way to save development and marketing costs and eliminate cannibalization of sales. Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press has already gone on record saying the company wants to halve the number of SUVs it offers.
Chrysler is also looking to pare costs through dealer consolidation, combining its Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands in a single dealership.
“For us to be an effective company in the long term, all three of our brands belong under one roof,” wrote Chrysler spokesman Stuart Schorr in an e-mailed statement. “Therefore, we have a process to over the long term rationalize our product line so that we are not competing with ourselves.”
Chrysler already has cut the Chrysler Crossfire, Pacifica, PT Cruiser convertible and Dodge Magnum. People familiar with the company’s plans say it will end production of the Jeep Commander next summer.
The Nitro is probably the leading candidate for the headsman’s axe; it doesn’t have the history of the Liberty and hasn’t lived up to company expectations. The Liberty is also the better-selling vehicle with nearly twice as many sales through August 2008.
Chrysler hasn’t made any announcements about eliminating cutting other vehicles from its roster but the Dodge Caravan could be a future casualty. In February, Press remarked the Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country compete with each other. In a speech earlier this week, Press reiterated his comments, saying, “Our Town & Country is a great minivan, but we had to do a Dodge Caravan: extra cost. It’s like a car race where we own both cars.”
Press reminded his audience that it costs Chrysler $100 million to advertise and promote each new vehicle model.
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