Jeep model onslaught aims to claw back from rocky sales road

Combating a sales slump and poor service ratings, Jeep plans a comeback — the Compass urban SUV arrives this week, then an updated Cherokee, new Wrangler and Grand Cherokee off-roader.

JEEP is about to launch the most aggressive new-model attack in its Australian history as it looks to reverse a disastrous decline in buyer confidence and sales over the past two years.

The American off-road brand was flying high as recently as five years ago but sales plummeted by 34.5 per cent last year alone and the company is looking to a model overhaul as a rescue strategy.

Among the heavy hits were a rash of warranty claims that culminated in one customer writing a rap song attacking Jeep and another burning a Grand Cherokee to the ground.

The comeback plan begins later this week with the arrival of the Jeep Compass, an urban SUV that also has an off-road advantage.

Cherokee Trailhawk: off-road contender.

It will be followed by an updated Cherokee in the booming family SUV category, then an all-new Wrangler and among others an off-road version of the Grand Cherokee flagship.

“We’ve got a massive product offensive this year. It’s 95 per cent of our line-up,” says Fiat Chrysler Automobiles local boss Steve Zanlunghi.

“We’ve backed ourselves. I do think that now were going to start to see some growth.”

The new models follow a huge improvement to Jeep’s customer care, including a five-year warranty under a package called the “There and Back Guarantee” that also runs to five years of capped price servicing and lifetime roadside assistance. There is even a new customer website.

“We’ve done a lot to get the foundations right. We’ve done a lot in 2017 to prepare for 2018,” says Zanlunghi.

“We’ve revamped a lot of our back-end operations and after-sales.”

Rough and smooth: Cherokee Trailhawk, left, and Cherokee Limited.

He doesn’t cite the budget for the multimillion-dollar improvements and model update but admits it has been costly.

“It’s been a big investment. A big investment in brand health (and) a new program to support dealers,” he says.

Zanlunghi won’t set showroom targets. Jeep sales fell from 12,620 in 2016 to 8270 last year and its best tally was 30,408 in 2014.

“I think we’re coming up. I think we’ve bottomed out,” he says.

“When you lose momentum it’s very hard to get started back up again. We’re not out to conquer the world. We want controlled growth.

“We don’t actually talk volume targets. Looking at the early results, from where we are in January, we’ve got a good momentum. I expect to be up year-on-year.”

Looking to the new and updated models, Zanlunghi is bullish.

Cherokee Limited interior (overseas model).

“We launch the Compass this week, the Cherokee is the next one following, then the JL Wrangler, then the Renegade. On top of that we’ve got the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. And we refreshed the Grand Cherokee last year.

“It’s a lot in such a compact period of time. But it’s not just product. It’s also the other pieces we did in 2017 to lay the foundations.”