A New Era Starts For Fiat Chrysler In New Zealand

A New Era Starts For Fiat Chrysler In New Zealand

A new era has started for the Fiat Chrysler Group in New Zealand, with the launch of its new distributor, Fiat Chrysler New Zealand, which will operate from a new multi-million dollar headquarters in Mt Wellington, Auckland.

The new company, a joint venture between New Zealand businessman Neville Crichton and Australian Clyde Campbell, brings together Fiat and Alfa Romeo with the American Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands in one distribution network for the first time in New Zealand. This will enable the new company to benefit fully from all the strengths of the Fiat Chrysler Group for the first time.

“It is only by having one distributor for all the major Fiat Chrysler Group brands that New Zealand may fully benefit from all the strengths of the Fiat Chrysler Group,” explains Clyde Campbell, director of the new company. “These include not just working with the Fiat Chrysler Group, but also the added clout of bringing all the brands together when comes to operating in New Zealand, from buying advertising space to putting together the best dealer group to serve our customers. We also have another trick up our sleeve – we will be working as a team with Neville Crichton’s other company, Ateco Automotive New Zealand, in key areas such as purchasing and this means we can punch well above our separate weights!”

Globally, the Fiat Chrysler Group was formed in 2009 when Italy’s Fiat joined forces with the USA’s Chrysler Group to form a major new player in the world automotive market. From that date Fiat Chrysler has been working to ensure that all the benefits of the new company are applied in all areas of the world. This has meant in many cases bringing together separate importers for the Italian and North American brands. This process has now reached New Zealand with the launch of the new distributor and a rationalization of dealers.

The second part of this process will see a repositioning of existing products to boost sales and this will be followed by new models arriving in New Zealand.

“The repositioning of the various models will not just be about price,” explains Mr. Campbell. “It will be a combination of changes in specification, new variants and, of course, price, as we tailor each and every model and variant to meet the specific needs of the New Zealand market. We are able to do this through our greater buying power and lower operating costs as single distributor for all the Fiat Chrysler Group brands and products.”

Fiat Chrysler New Zealand is looking at three key areas of change for how the brands have done business in the past, described in its own shorthand as Place, Promotion and Pricing.

Place is where customers will find Fiat and Chrysler products and it is not just about bricks and mortar. While the dealer group is being reorganized so that it reflects the distributor, with all dealers representing all the brands in the group, there will be a major increase in the brands’ representation in the digital realm.

“The research is very clear,” says Mr. Campbell. “The majority of customers have now made their brand and product decision before they reach a dealership. Selling the company, the brand and its products – what the salesperson used to do in the showroom – now largely takes place on the internet as customers research their buying decision on line. So we will be lifting our internet presence that is serving customers, dealers and even the media to new levels.”

Place also means a new, dedicated facility for Fiat Chrysler New Zealand itself, with the new state of the art headquarters at Mt Wellington that brings together all aspects of the business under one roof for the first time, speeding response, lifting the quality of service and widening the choice of products in stock.

New Zealand TV viewers can expect to see a lot more of Fiat and Chrysler products in coming months with a combination of the greater power of the new group buying airtime and a greater emphasis on television meaning when it comes to promotion, television will be the major player for the new company.

“Television is the most effective tool to alert customers to new products and prices,” says Mr. Campbell, “and it can then guide them to our enhanced internet presence where we and our dealers can clearly demonstrate that our products are the ideal choice for their customers’ automotive needs.”

Price is, for Fiat Chrysler New Zealand, shorthand for the entire value proposition for each of its products, covering the specification of the vehicles so they contain what New Zealand buyers want and expect in each model, the position of the entry level variant of each model and the price range of those models. Every model and variant in the range will be undergoing close examination so that it may be optimized for the local market and benefit from the strength of the new combined company.

Structural changes in the New Zealand market that have seen the substantial growth in the small car and 4WD/SUV sectors will also benefit the new company with these being areas in which Fiat Chrysler is uniquely strong. Fiat is renowned for its small cars and Alfa Romeo adds a unique performance edge, while Jeep is the very definition of four wheel drive cars and Chrysler and Dodge are renowned for their SUV/4WD and people mover crossover vehicles.

“The timing and the combinations that we have brought together could not be better for the launch of our new company,” says Neville Crichton, director of the new company. “Whether it Clyde’s expertise in working with Chrysler and my experience with the New Zealand market and the European brands; Ateco and Fiat Chrysler working as a team to get more clout in the market place or the brilliant products from Fiat and Chrysler, we believe that we have put together the ideal solution to meet the needs of New Zealand car buyers and that means solid, long term growth for Fiat Chrysler New Zealand and its dealers.”

ENDS

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