Chrysler 300C Puts Visions of Exports in Execs Heads

CALGARY, Alberta September 11, 2004; Jeffrey Jones writing for Reuters reported that it has taken six years, but Chrysler is betting it has improved the quality and style of its cars to the point where it can win over twice as many European motorists, its chief executive said.

The North American unit of DaimlerChrysler AG had said on Friday it will introduce left- and right-hand drive versions of its hot-selling 300C sedan outside North America in 2006.

A big sales push by Chrysler in Europe has so far been a missing piece of the puzzle that began with the 1998 merger with Germany's Daimler-Benz. Since then, the division has undergone major cost-cutting and product development.

"We do not want, like some of our competitors, to appear to be another European competitor. We want to be Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge -- all American brands offered in Europe and other markets abroad," Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler group president and CEO, said in an interview late on Friday.

"But of course, they have to have the main features and characteristics which are necessary in Europe -- these are right-hand steering (and) diesel engines, which we incorporate now in the concept of the car and not as an add-on."

The interview came after Zetsche announced the overseas marketing plans for the 300c at a speech to business and political leaders outside Calgary, Alberta.

The company said international demand for the new 300C, with its huge, egg-crate grille and low-slung roof, is outstripping supply by 30 percent, prompting it to consider a third shift at the Brampton, Ontario, plant where it is built.

Europeans have largely shied away from North American-built cars, which were thought of as gas-guzzling land-yachts, but Zetsche said his goal now is to double Chrysler's market share there to 1.4 percent within five years.

The key is meeting or beating quality standards set by the top European makers like sister company Mercedes and Japanese players, such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd., and offering stylish cars, he said.

Detroit's big barrier in Europe so far has been weakness in "quality and refinement," Zetsche said in the interview.

"When you look at the interior of a traditional former North American car, it did not really live up to the same standards as the top European brands did. We do today.

"One more issue was that the ride quality and the handling were perceived by European customers as far too imprecise."

The old beefs have been addressed in the new generation of Chryslers earmarked for overseas markets, Zetsche said.

The 300C series of cars aimed at European showrooms will be offered with six-cylinder gasoline engines, diesel engines and -- despite higher European fuel prices -- the 5.7 liter Hemi.

Besides Chryslers and Jeeps already sold in Europe, such as the Grand Cherokee SUV, the company plans to offer the Dodge Viper sports car and versions of the 300C, including the high-performance SRT-8.

"We will expand it with two or three more models, more in the mid-size segments," he said.

"From the nine products we launched this year, I would guess that five or six will be launched in Europe as well. And beyond that, a lot of future products."