The Chrysler brand needs some help.
The merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France’s PSA Group to form Stellantis could be its lifeline, said David Kelleher, chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council.
Kelleher believes Stellantis has a chance to fortify Chrysler, which sells the aging 300 sedan along with the Pacifica and Voyager minivans, with product from the PSA side.
Kelleher thinks this product infusion could be done at reasonable expense because the automaker wouldn’t have to develop new models from the ground up.
He said he’d feel “violated” if the Chrysler brand was dropped.
“This whole thing started with Chrysler,” Kelleher said. “I don’t want to get emotional about a brand, that’s not the case. But I don’t want to see a brand like that left at the sideline and just thrown out to pasture.”
While dealers await the next moves of the Stellantis team, Kelleher also is paying close attention to a move by rival General Motors last month.
GM’s decision to sell electrified commercial vans through a separate dealer network raised concerns for Kelleher. BrightDrop will be GM’s first new U.S. vehicle brand in more than two decades.
