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Dodge MPV soon
Chrysler mounts a twin
MPV attack with the
Journey joining Voyager
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS
CHRYSLER Group Australia is embarking
on a two-model people-mover assault starting
September with the release of the Dodge
Journey.
Dubbed a CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle),
the Journey is based on Chrysler’s ‘D’ segment
(JS) platform that also underpins the mid-sized
Sebring and Dodge Avenger, as well as the
Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass compact SUVs
and the Dodge Caliber small car.
It will effectively give the company a
sub-$50,000 presence in the seven-seater
SUV segment, and will also allow for the
established Grand Voyager people-mover to
edge upmarket.
Speaking to GoAuto at the recent RT-series
Grand Voyager launch in Melbourne, marketing
and product strategy general manager Craig
Bradshaw outlined the Journey’s positioning
within Chrysler’s people-mover portfolio.
“The strategy for the company is to reduce
the amount of overlap between the segments,
and introducing a product like the Journey
is effectively a short-wheelbase Voyager
replacement,” he said.
Chrysler discontinued the short-wheelbase
Voyager midway through the previousgeneration
RG version’s model life in late 2004,
when it retailed for $53,490. The base-model
RT Grand Voyager kicks off at $56,990. There
will not be a short-wheelbase version of the RT
Grand Voyager, as demand for it was low.
Grand Voyager
“The decision was made to focus only on the
long wheelbase,” Mr Bradshaw explained. “For
most international markets it was the preferred
vehicle, although there was a small market for
the short-wheelbase vehicle in Europe.”
Chrysler hopes the RT Grand Voyager’s
new-found diesel availability and new luxury
features will snag more traditional SUV buyers
who are tired of the expensive running costs
and creeping social stigma.
“I think with the current climate – with fuel
prices and everything else – we’re going to see,
as we have with large 4WDs overall declining
fairly rapidly, that we will pick up some of that
SUV segment as people become more rational
with their buying choices,” Mr Bradshaw said.
Chrysler Australia managing director Gerry
Jenkins added that the introduction of the Kia
Carnival in late 1999 and the price realignment
of the current-generation Honda Odyssey in
the middle of 2004 presented a challenge for
the Voyager.
The Voyager’s market share began to
contract from its 1997/98 high of 105-plus
monthly sales to around 40 per month over the
last two years.
“That’s why we’re really at the high
end of the market. We’re not
really competing against those
vehicles (anymore),” Mr
Jenkins said.
Nevertheless, Chrysler
says there is a healthy level
of interest in a vehicle
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A PRIL 16, 2008 Page 21
specifi cally like the Grand Voyager.
“My experience has been that people
who have bought the old one have not been
interested in a whole lot of other cars other
than the Voyager,” Mr Jenkins said. “They’re
well researched, well informed, and that’s
what they want.
“They got either US experience, or
experience abroad, and they want something
like this that meets all of their needs and have
certain luxury appointments with all the bells
and whistles. And that market isn’t a very large
market but it’s a very interested market.
“And they seem to be very satisfi ed. A lot of
people who have put in orders for the new one
are existing (Voyager) owners, so there is a fair
amount of loyalty regarding Voyager buyers.”
Mr Jenkins is confi dent that once people
are given the chance to sit inside the Grand
Voyager, they will be more inclined to buy this
sort of people-mover.
“The key is that they got to drive it. A lot of
people ... a lot of my mates don’t want anything
to do with this ... (so) then what I do is that I
force it on them,” he said.
“It’s absolutely great to drive. You’ve got
great visibility, great handling, and you’ve
got the comfort that everybody with you is
enjoying the ride as well. They’re not stuffedin
in any way, not squeezed up against one
another ... they’re very comfortable.
“Of all the ones I’ve personally sold, at least
75 per cent are with families.”
Chrysler’s own Tiida – page 26
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Dodge Journey