Jeep considers itself a ‘premium brand’ with a focus on customer experience

Jeep car is working to make its dealers more appealing to customers as it avoids price-leading entry-level variants in favor of more expensive but better equipped models.

However, while it positions itself as a more premium brand, it is still aiming to continue a recent trend of sales growth after several years of decline.

“We are not a cheap brand. Billy Hayes, Stellantis Senior Vice President, India and Asia Pacific Region Sales, Marketing and Operations, said we are a premium brand and we are moving forward. more upscale.

He also commented that the Jeep brand should be “akin to what a domestic brand should be in Australia”, considering Australia’s fondness for the outdoors and SUVs.

“We are working with our dealer partners to ensure that the facilities are correct. They are where Jeep customers want to go because they are properly supported by us and can deliver a truly premium experience,” said Mr. Hayes.

“There has been a strong focus on customer experience.”

That includes not only the service provided by the agent’s staff, but also the agent’s online presence.

This work is part of a strategy undertaken by Kevin Flynn, who took over as chief executive officer of Jeep Australia in September 2019.

“We have huge aspirations for Jeep in Australia, which is an almost natural Australian market for us to succeed. And in the past, we’ve been really successful in sales. And we’re putting strategies together to relive that, back there, maybe even more brilliantly, where we were years ago,” said Mr. Flynn.

Jeep Australia says it’s not interested in going below the current entry-level model, Compass Night Eaglepriced at $39,950 before on-road costs.

“We’re really pleased with the performance, but we don’t want to go, at this point, below that,” Mr. Flynn said.

But Mr. Flynn said that it is the customer who will “really determine if the vehicle is premium or not.”

“I think if you look back, for example, over the past three years, we’ve slowly moved the vehicles with their specification levels, the way they’ve been built, the quality of the vehicles. into an area where, maybe, we weren’t there before. So that’s the direction we’re going and you’ll see more of it. ”

The compass has been the starting point for the range since Jeep Australia piloted the smaller version Extend in early 2020, although the boxy crossover is still available in other markets. In Europe, the brand also introduced a new product Entry-level electric SUV.

Jeep Australia says it has effectively eliminated base models from its range.

Almost every Jeep model today comes with Night Eagle trim, which features unique exterior details like glossy black wheels.

That includes the Base Compass, which ditches the entry-level Longitude and Sport trims in 2020, and gets a full suite of active safety and driver-assist technologies as standard across the board. its scope.

That move saw the Compass underlying price jump to the mid-$30k level before the en route, as the range initially opened at $28,850 before the en route. Since then, it has grown to just $50 from $40,000.

Jeep Australia said it was working with dealers to offer a more customer-focused package, including the rollout of a limited-price service programme, shortly before the launch of COVID-19.

Despite this challenge, Jeep sales have grown 4.1% in 2020 to 5765 units, in a market that has fallen by nearly 14%. Its market share is 0.6%.

Sales have since skyrocketed to 7,762 units in 2021.

It’s a promising trend after several years of declining sales and market share. In 2014, Jeep hit an all-time high in Australia with sales of 30,408 vehicles and a market share of 2.7%, but unfavorable exchange rates and inadequate after-sales service drove the numbers down. This declines every year until 2020.

However, like other car manufacturers, Jeep has price increase this yearciting ongoing supply chain issues and rising raw material costs.

Wrangler models saw their prices rise from $6600 to $7000, while the Fighter up to $2300, slow selling Cherokee up to $3500 and most Compass models up to $1000.

With the launch of Grand CherokeeDeliveries to customers will begin in June, with Jeep Australia having only its second ever with a pre-departure price tag of more than $100,000.

The flagship Summit Reserve is priced at $115,450 before it hits the road, making it the second most expensive Jeep ever in Australia after the V8 supercharged Trackhawk version of the upcoming Grand Cherokee WK2-series.

“We’ve seen insanely good reception for the car, lots of pre-orders, high-end, high-end customers,” said Billy Hayes.

“Obviously, we’re getting a lot of Jeep customers coming back and staying in the brand. But a lot of high-end customers that we’ve never seen before coming to the brand, are coming to the brand for this vehicle. So it really speaks to the premium of the car. “

Jeep is expecting the mid-range Limited trim, priced from $87,950 before on-road costs, to take a lion’s share of Grand Cherokee L sales at 50%.

For the rest, the top Summit Reserve will take up 30% and the base Night Eagle will make up the remaining 20%.

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