Chrysler’s in a tricky situation here in the UK and Europe in that it’s trying to acquire market share at a time when it lacks a comprehensive model range.
It might be in the process of investing $23 billion in 21 new products, including seven completely new cars, I was told by Saad Chehab President and CEO of the Chrysler Brand at the UK’s launch of the Ypsilon, but it’s going to take a long time for Chrysler to achieve his aspiration of it becoming “the coolest brand, the fun brand that cares what you do combined with great design.”
At the moment Chrysler is in no man’s land, nobody quite understands if its image is the 300C, soccer mom MPV or cars like the Ypsilon I drove today.
The Ypsilon is built alongside Fiat’s uber cool 500 in Poland as it is based on the same powertrain and mechanical underpinnings. Across the Channel it is badged as a Lancia, but here in the UK that Italian marque had a swift and spectacular fall from grace back in the 1980s over rusting that eventually led the brand to being withdrawn.
The Fiat group toyed with the idea of relaunching Lancia in the UK a few years back, but the global financial collapse put an end to that and with Fiat acquiring Chrysler it made more financial sense to utilize Chrysler’s already established UK dealer network. Hence, the Chrysler Ypsilon and Delta.
A small five-door hatch, Chrysler views the Ypsilon as a contender to the Mini and Audi A1, unfortunately…
Both of those cars, prestige small hatchbacks, offer customers something they don’t get in the likes of Fiestas and Golfs: in both instances there’ a huge range of options, so many, in fact, that both Audi and Mini claim no two cars are the same. They also offer high quality finish and materials.
Frankly the Ypsilon didn’t achieve any of those goals. The fascia with its central speedo and tacho doesn’t match the center stack and in right-hand drive versions the speedo is nearer to the passenger than driver. The overall feel and quality of the interior trim was below par and the seats too high, not helped by the absence of a fully adjustable steering column. And there simply isn’t the choice of personalization Mini and A1 offer.
And while I praised the innovative TwinAir engine in the Fiat 500, its sporty raucous engine note was at odds with a car that is supposed to be displaying sophistication.
While one Chrysler exec said “the alliance is not about badge engineering”, Chehab was more pragmatic and admitted the Ypsilon and Delta are, in effect, just that before adding “But we need product quickly and this is an expedient way of achieving that. Come to the Detroit show in January and you’ll see a new Dodge based on the Guilietta, but it won’t look like it.”
Chrysler has a long hill to haul itself up. Perhaps the Delta is a better start?
Find out tomorrow.
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