Aug 23, 2009
Chrysler to raise Compass, Patriot prices
ROCKFORD — Chrysler Group LLC is raising the suggested retail price of its
Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot models between 4.4 percent and 5.4 percent for the 2010 model year, the company announced last week.
Will the price be right?
Chrysler Group LLC is suggesting between a 4.4 percent and 5.4 percent increase in prices in 2010 for its Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot offerings.
For more information
Click here to see a breakdown in prices from 2007 to 2010 for the three Belvidere models.
http://content.gatehousemedia.com/fi...r%20prices.pdf
The company, which is now controlled by Italian automaker Fiat SpA, hasn’t released pricing for a several of its models, including the Dodge Caliber. The Caliber, Compass and Patriot are assembled by about 1,700 workers at Chrysler’s assembly plant in Belvidere.
But it’s not unusual for the company to increase the suggested price even in such a severe recession, experts say, because ultimately the MSRP means little.
“The manufacturers put such heavy incentives on vehicles that nobody really pays attention,” said Erich Merkle of Autoconomy.com. The average automotive manufacturer incentive was $2,735 per vehicle in July, according to Edmunds.com. “It may mean something on the Internet, though, because people tend to search for vehicles in certain price ranges.”
One thing Merkle, who heads the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Autoconomy.com, is certain of is that there are few price changes left for the vehicles in the Caliber era. Chrysler launched the line in 2006.
“There may be a 2011 model year, but I doubt they’ll change the prices,” Merkle said.
“They’ll stop manufacturing those three in 2010 and begin building a subcompact for Chrysler and Dodge in 2011.”
When launched, the Caliber created long waiting lists and was one of the strongest domestic car launches of the decade.
But its underpowered engine and plastic interior soon curtailed enthusiasm and its sales have been carried by fleet buyers. The Compass caught on in Europe, but lagged everywhere else. The Patriot had the most promise and actually outsold the Caliber in the U.S. for the first time in July. It’s unlikely to survive Fiat’s cutting floor, though, despite its strong design ties to the old Jeep Cherokee.
Merkle said workers at the plant won’t be building Fiat’s small car, the 500, or any of its variants, which is expected to be built at Chrysler’s plant in Toluca, Mexico. Instead, Merkle believes Belvidere workers will be building a car based on Fiat’s Punto, a supermini that Fiat began building in 1993 and now is in its third generation.
Merkle doesn’t anticipate Chrysler to announce manufacturing changes this year, though.
“Fiat is still trying to figure out capacity,” Merkle said. “Chrysler is going to have to shut down more plants or find companies willing to utilize them, but there aren’t many opportunities out there.”
Article Link:
Chrysler to raise Compass, Patriot prices - - BusinessRockford.com
