Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) rejected it had chosen to pull the plug on the Chrysler brand in Japan, following local media report it was planning to stop offering the U.S. cars in the nation as early as next year after years of bad sales.
“Although FCA Japan has already revealed its objective to concentrate its resources on the Jeep brand ahead, no decisions have been made regarding (the) Chrysler brand,” the automaker stated.
The Nikkei business daily reported that the automaker, which also offers the Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Abarth brands in Japan, was nearing the decision to surrender on the Chrysler brand name, which published sales of less than 300 vehicles in last year, having fallen gradually from 2000.
Sales of the brand in Japan have diminished to roughly one-tenth of exactly what they were a decade ago.
Right now, FCA sells only one Chrysler model in Japan, the full-sized 300s high-end sedan, which is sold at the maker’s Jeep dealers.
As its sales struggle, FCA’s Fiat brand name, that include smaller models, and its Jeep brand name have been growing in the country. In 2016, they sold around 6,700 and 9,400 units, respectively, making them top 10-selling foreign branded automobiles in the Japanese market.
Foreign vehicles make up a small portion of the overall Japanese automobile market, which is dominated by domestic brands. In 2016, 295,000 foreign top quality brand-new cars were offered in the country, approximately one-tenth of overall new vehicle sales.
