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| Jeep still traversing new terrain |
Jeep may be about to turn 80, but it hasn’t lost its knack for storming over new terrain.
Just look at the price tag for a fully loaded edition of the reborn Grand Wagoneer, revealed last week. It will check out at an eye-popping $110,000 as it fulfills the late Sergio Marchionne’s dream of pitting the brand born for the battlefield against the likes of the Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX and Land Rover Range Rover.
Monday’s issue will also shed some light on two new Jeep initiatives:
■ Certified salespeople known as Wagoneer Ambassadors will undergo special training to sell the Grand Wagoneer and its Wagoneer sibling, which will start at a mere $59,995. It’s part of an effort to make sure that dealers offer a sales experience that matches the lofty price tags.
“I really believe that the level of sophistication — the technology that we have in the car — is so high that it’s going to be almost impossible for a salesperson to sell that car without that training, and without the Wagoneer Ambassador certification,” Jeep global boss Christian Meunier told us.
The buying process is to be guided by what Jeep calls its “10 Customer Promises.” They were developed in coordination with dealers and provide an array of perks, including remote test drives and around-the-clock concierge support.
■ That most American of American vehicle types — the pickup truck — is about to debut in the most unlikely of places: Japan. And it will arrive in the form of the Jeep Gladiator, the Wrangler-based pickup that went on sale in the U.S. two years ago.
No, Jeep is not planning on making a killing. It would be happy with a few hundred sales a year. But the Gladiator will add a bit of momentum to a brand that is gradually making a mark.
Jeep wants to sell more than 20,000 vehicles annually in Japan by 2023. That would be four times as many as the 5,000 sold a decade earlier.
“For us, it’s a brand statement,” said Pontus Haggstrom, CEO of FCA Japan, no doubt imagining the reaction the Gladiator will prompt in a nation accustomed to the sight of pint-sized minicars and skinny tall vans.
“It’s the ‘wow!’ of the ‘wow!’ ”
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“It will be a different company. We will make 30 percent efficiency gains over the course of the next six months. The ultimate goal is to make Aston Martin the most efficient and most agile auto manufacturer in our luxury/performance world. And we will get there.” |
– ASTON MARTIN CEO TOBIAS MOERS |
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From “Why Aston Martin’s CEO is confident that turnaround will succeed” |
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Coming Monday in Automotive News:
Competition shakes up the DMS market: In the dealership management system space, new entrants and smaller players are looking to grow their businesses in a market long dominated by two providers — CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds. Experts say dealers now have more choices — and more leverage — when it comes to choosing a DMS system that fits the needs of their stores. A new provider that rolled out its platform amid the digital acceleration of the pandemic is promising an easier, nimbler and more modern experience. Automotive News looks at the changes ahead for the market and how it might shake out against a reality that has been constant for years: Dealers often are frustrated with their DMS providers, and they want change.
Jeep will import a pickup to Japan: Pickups seem absolutely anathema to Japanese tastes, but Jeep wants to jolt the status quo with its Gladiator. Jeep’s goal is to reach it’s eighth-straight year of record sales in Japan in 2021. To get there, the brand is expanding its dealer network and offerings. Enter the Gladiator. Jeep plans to introduce the Wrangler-based truck to Japan toward the end of the year, becoming the first U.S. brand in recent memory to directly import that most American of vehicles. Automotive News speaks with FCA Japan chief Pontus Haggstrom on the brand’s plans for the market, as pickups gain more currency with customers in Asia.
Weekend headlines:
VW plots $30 billion tech reboot to fend off Tesla, other rivals: The automaker’s new coding school is a part of VW’s massive push into software to fend off Tesla and other tech giants.
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Electric Hummer: GMC plans to unveil the electric Hummer SUV on April 3 during the NCAA Final Four men’s basketball tournament.
Sentras recalled: Nissan North America is recalling more than 850,000 of the compact sedans over a defect that may prevent the brake lights from illuminating, which could increase the risk of a crash.
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A selection from Shift and Daily Drive:
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March 18, 2018: As she walked a bike across North Mill Avenue in Tempe, Ariz., 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was struck and killed by an Uber self-driving test vehicle with a safety driver. She became the first person killed in a crash involving self-driving technology. The landmark incident rattled a fledgling industry which had, to that point, basked in the broad promise of a safer transportation future.