Report: Chrysler Confirms RAM as Solo Brand With New Appointments

[Administrator]

After several rumors and reports, Chrysler has now confirmed that the Dodge Ram will be spun off into its own brand with the appointment of two individuals. Fred Diaz Jr., formerly Director of the Denver Business Center, will now head up the RAM brand, while Ralph Gilles will take over at the helm of the car brand. Gilles will also continue to run the product design department at Chrysler Group.

"The brand-focused strategy has been refined further with the unbundling of the Dodge Brand which now consists of the Dodge RAM Brand and the Dodge Car Brand organizations," said Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. "This reorganization will allow us to protect and develop the unique nature of the product offerings within the Dodge Brand."

Within this new corporate structure, Marchionne also appointed a new Chrysler brand CEO; Olivier Francois, who comes from Fiat's Lancia Brand and will continue in his position there as well.

More: Report: Chrysler Confirms RAM as Solo Brand With New Appointments on AutoGuide.com

[elephantrider]

wow

do dodge ram will be its own brand and start making
cars as well ???

mmmmm i smell a four doory sled with a common rail
in it..

[Taquache]

Dam Might have to rebadge once again!

['strokeThis_'07]

Originally Posted by elephantrider

dodge ram will be its own brand and start making
cars as well ???

Whered you get that from? Id imagine the Ram brand will focus exclusively on trucks. The strongest line in the Dodge fold is easily the Ram trucks. Looks like they want to split them up, so the trucks carry on their tradition of excellence (my words) and success and will focus on the car side of things seperately to increase their sales and improve on quality and such. The trucks sell themselves.

Thats how I take it

[kentqb316]

They already broke off relations with Cummins didn't they? So are they going to keep the diesel models?

['strokeThis_'07]

Originally Posted by kentqb316

They already broke off relations with Cummins didn't they? So are they going to keep the diesel models?

NO!!! They DID NOT break off with Cummins. The Cummins 6.7 will be under the hood of Dodges for many years.

The contract for the 5.0 V8 Cummins destined for the 1/2 ton was canceled and was supposed to be renegotiated. I dont know how thats going

[bunga]

Some more info as well in this article.

Chrysler shakes up its top executives
Two CEOs hired in June abruptly leave company

By The Associated Press
Tue. Oct 6 - 4:45 AM

DETROIT — Chrysler’s new Italian management on Monday announced a surprise shakeup of the automaker’s executive team, saying two recently appointed brand CEOs have left and that it was splitting Dodge into two groups, one focusing on trucks and the other on cars.

The moves marked the second management reorganization since Fiat Group SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne took control of Chrysler on June 10 when it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Peter Fong, president and CEO of the Chrysler brand and the company’s top sales executive, and Michael Accavitti, president and CEO of the Dodge brand, abruptly left the company, Fong for personal reasons and Accavitti to pursue other interests, Chrysler said in a statement.

Sales of Chrysler Group LLC vehicles, which consist of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, are down 39 per cent for the first nine months of the year. Chrysler also was caught unprepared for the government’s Cash for Clunkers program and had too few small vehicles on dealer lots to benefit much from the rebates.

Chrysler sales spokesman Gualberto Ranieri would not comment when asked if the departures were related to Chrysler’s sales performance.

Chrysler said that it would split the Dodge brand into truck and car groups. The truck group will be led by Fred Diaz Jr., who previously ran the company’s Denver business centre. The Ram brand consists of the company’s new Ram pickup trucks, as well as its commercial vehicles. Diaz also will take over as lead sales executive in the U.S. for the Chrysler Group organization.

Design vice-president Ralph Gilles will take over leadership of the Dodge car brand, which includes minivans, in addition to his current design responsibilities, the company said.

The two men replace Accavitti, who was appointed to head Dodge by Marchionne in June. Fong was replaced by Fiat executive Olivier Francois, who served as head of the Lancia brand.

Fong’s departure is stunning given that only two weeks ago, he and Marchionne appeared as the public faces of the company at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany. Except for the show and a few public appearances by Marchionne, Chrysler has been under a news blackout. The company plans to release its future product and business plans in November.

At the Frankfurt show, Chrysler executives said they want to make Chrysler a high-end luxury brand, while Dodge would feature performance and everyday cars and trucks. Jeep would remain a brand with off-road and sport utility vehicles.

Gary Dilts, a former Chrysler sales executive who is now senior vice-president of global automotive operations for J.D. Power and Associates, said Fong and Accivitti clearly did not leave the company on their own after serving only three months.

Chrysler must move quickly to keep its current buyers and try to stop its market share erosion, Dilts said. Marchionne must not have been satisfied with the company’s performance in those areas, he said.

"Something went wrong here," Dilts said. "Marchionne has a different plan, a different formation. Whatever was happening there wasn’t in balance with what he was looking for."

Dodge, he said, used to be a big nameplate in cars but has withered over the years. "One thing Chrysler has to do is get back into the everyday car business," Dilts said.

[MoPower05]

I like it. Watch this over the next 5 years. Looks like they will continue what is right (RAM) and improve what was almost right. Take whats left and make it right.

















p.s. right is good

[DieselSharker]

Crazy! How long is it going to take people to get used to calling their trucks Rams instead of Dodges? I always call mine "the Dodge."

[musclecarman]

Will this mean that they will not be serviced at Dodge dealerships? Will there be new dealerships just for Rams?

[stupid_productions]

The Rams will still be Dodge Rams, they'll just have more SUVs and trucks under the 'Dodge Ram' brand. Don't you already take a Jeep, Chrysler, or Dodge to the same dealership? Why would Dodge splitting into Ram and Car Brands make any difference to that?

[Reddooley]

What does Fiat know about Pickups?
This is a good first step if they were planning on selling the truck division.