Jeep is the leading brand of the Stellantis group in the USA

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Jeep is the leading brand of the Stellantis group in the USA
- The Jeep brand is derived from the former Kaiser-Willys brand. Acquired by AMC (American Motors Corporation) in 1970, it came under the control of Renault in 1982 before being sold to the Chrysler group in 1987. Integrated into the DaimlerChrysler group in 1998 along with the Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth brands, it was bought by Fiat in 2011 to form the Fiat-Chrysler group with the Chrysler and Dodge brands (Plymouth having disappeared in 2001).
 
- Considered by the former boss of Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, as the brand of the Chrysler group with the greatest potential, Jeep benefited from strong development in North America thanks to a substantial enlargement of the range and strong development elsewhere due to a presence in Europe, South America and China. Even if the establishment in China failed, the global distribution of Jeep continued to increase from 2010 to 2018, going from 450,000 units to 1,600,000 units in 2018, one of the strongest growth rates recorded by an American brand over the past twenty years. In 2022, global Jeep sales are still nearly 1,400,000 units.
 
- The Jeep brand, which only produces SUVs, has certainly benefited from the strong development of SUVs around the world. Sergio Marchionne had anticipated the brand's strong potential as early as 2011. In 2023, Jeep will remain in the SUV segment by entering the era of electrification with battery electric models such as Avenger, Recon, Wagoneer S, and plug-in hybrids as Renegade PHEV, Compass PHEV, Wrangler PHEV, making Jeep the most advanced American brand in terms of electrification.

Chrysler, or the hypothetical rebirth of a premium brand

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Chrysler, or the hypothetical rebirth of a premium brand
- The Chrysler brand has become the top-of-the-range brand of the Chrysler group since the end of the Imperial brand in 1975. This brand has therefore been in competition with Cadillac (GM group) and Lincoln (Ford group) since that time.
 
- The Chrysler group then made up of the Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler brands bought the Jeep brand in 1987. Then this group merged in 1998 with the German carmaker Daimler-Benz to form the DaimlerChrysler group. The Chrysler group, which was relieved of the entry-level brand Plymouth in 2001, regained its independence in 2007 before filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
 
- The group made up of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands was then bought by the Italian group Fiat, to form the Fiat-Chrysler group in 2011. Ten years later, in 2021, the Fiat-Chrysler group merged with PSA to form the Stellantis group.
 
- While the former boss of Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, had planned to end the Chrysler and Dodge brands that had become moribund, the new management of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, wants to believe in the sustainability of these two brands.
 
- We can say that the Chrysler brand almost disappeared, its production volume (based mainly in North America) falling from 800,000 units in 2005 to 100,000 in 2021 (-87.5%).
 
- Stellantis' strategy is to perpetuate the Chrysler brand through the electrification of its models, the next one called Airflow should be launched in 2025. The task remains delicate, however, because it will not be easy to increase the level of sales in the long term, which certainly increased by 63% in 2022 compared to 2021, but remains very far from its past scores.

Honda unveils three new SUVs from different segments

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Honda unveils three new SUVs from different segments

- Honda just introduced three new SUVs this month:

- the e:Ny1 which is a kind of HRV with an electric motorisation (B/C segment) 4.39 m long equipped with a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor and a 69 kWh battery capacity,

- the ZRV which is a 4.57m long C-segment SUV based on the Civic sedan and powered by a 2-liter full hybrid (HEV) engine developing 184 hp (or 135 kW)

- the new generation of the 4.70 m long CRV equipped with the same full hybrid engine as the ZRV and for the first time a 2-litre plug-in hybrid engine (PHEV). The price is estimated at 45,000 euros for the e:Ny1, 40,000 euros for the ZRV and 50,000 euros for the CRV.

- The ZRV is expected to be the best-selling of the three in Europe. Honda presents it as the SUV version of the Civic, 2 cm longer but above all 20 cm higher. The problem is that Honda's market share in Europe has been steadily shrinking over the years, and so you shouldn't expect big sales figures for the ZRV, and even less for the other two new SUVs.

- Honda is instead targeting the Chinese and American markets. Indeed, these three new models are made in China. They will therefore be imported into Europe from China.

- The ZRV, which fits into the Honda range between the HRV and the CRV, competes in Europe with C-segment SUVs such as the Volkswagen Tiguan (4.52 m), Renault Austral (4.51 m), Peugeot 3008 (4.45 m), Citroën C5 Aircross (4.50 m), Kia Sportage (4.52 m) and Hyundai Tucson (4.50 m). The e:NY1 instead faces the Peugeot e-2008, Opel e-Mokka, Hyundai Kona e, Smart 01 and Volvo EX30.

Dodge, the weak brand of the Stellantis group

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Dodge, the weak brand of the Stellantis group
- The Dodge brand was the Chrysler Group's mid-range brand located in price range between the Plymouth and Chrysler brands. Another mid-range brand, De Soto, was removed in 1960. Dodge gradually oriented its range towards more sportiness, with the Charger and Challenger models, a bit like Pontiac (from the GM group) with its Firebirds or Mercury (from the Ford group) with its Cougars.
 
- However, Dodge did not have the chance to be marketed either on the European market or on the Chinese market, which resulted in a North American market brand oriented. As a result, Dodge did not benefit from growth between 2005 and 2022. The brand even fell sharply between 2013 and 2021, dropping from 800,000 units to 200,000 in 2021 (-75%). This sales drop is mainly due to the decline and then the end of the Caravan minivan (twin brother of the old Plymouth Voyager).
 
- The strategy of former Fiat-Chrysler Group boss Sergio Marchionne had been to drop the Caravan minivan from the Dodge line-up because "it wasn't sporty enough" and therefore didn't fit the image he wanted the brand to portray.
 
- Fiat acquired the Chrysler Group in 2011, which then included the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands. As a last resort, Sergio Marchionne had decided to eliminate the Chrysler and Dodge brands in the long term because of their too low sales volume.
 
- After the death of Sergio Marchionne in 2018 and the merger of Fiat-Chrysler with PSA in 2021, a new strategy was put in place, which aims to perpetuate the Chrysler and Dodge brands. However, the Dodge brand remains fragile since the separation of the pickup branch renamed Ram, which sells more than 600,000 vehicles each year.

The US middle and heavy truck market is stabilizing over the first 4 months of 2023

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The US middle and heavy truck market is stabilizing over the first 4 months of 2023

- The middle and heavy truck market in the USA stands at 160,000 units over the first 4 months of 2023, which augurs for a volume of approximately 480,000 units over the whole year, compared to 475,000 units in 2022, 460,000 in 2021 and 410,000 in 2020.
The truck market in the USA is therefore stabilizing after a strong increase recorded between 2020 and 2022 (+16%). We are in fact returning to pre-Covid levels.

- This stabilization of the truck market in the USA contrasts with the 10% increase in US sales of passenger cars (including SUVs and MPVs) and pick-ups over the same period. 

- The leading truck brand in the USA remains Freightliner which is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks and which holds 34% of the market. The International brand of the Navistar group (subsidiary of Volkswagen) is second, with 14% of the market, followed by Ford (12%), Peterbilt (9%) and Kenworth (9%). These last two brands form the Paccar group, which should not be confused with the former luxury car brand Packard, which ceased operations in 1958. The Paccar group holds 18% of the truck market in the USA.

- Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks, which are integrated into the Volvo Trucks group, together represent 10% of the market.

- It should be noted that the truck market in the USA is divided into two categories: Middle Trucks (medium range) and Heavy Trucks (high range). The brands most involved in the high range are Freightliner, International, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Volvo, Mack and Western Star. Ford, GM and Chrysler are present only in the upper range pickup category. The other brands (such as Isuzu) are mainly present in the category of Middle Trucks.

  1. Global pick-up production remains stable at 4 million units per year
  2. Sales and production in Vietnam continue to climb
  3. Global light vehicle production could increase by 2.5% in 2023
  4. Chevrolet, the leading brand of the GM group, is less and less popular
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