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GELYY News DJ MOTOR SHOW:Lancia Europe Dealers To Rise 50% Thanks to Chrysler,Jeep -CEO.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 2:20 PM

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News for 'GELYY' - (=DJ MOTOR SHOW:Lancia Europe Dealers To Rise 50% Thanks to Chrysler,Jeep -CEO)

By Gilles Castonguay

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

PARIS (Dow Jones)--The head of Lancia said Wednesday the number of dealers for Fiat SpA's (F.MI, FIATY) premium brand will rise by about 50% by next year in Europe, excluding Italy, after it takes over those who sell the Chrysler and Jeep brands.

Lancia's chief executive, Olivier Francois, is overseeing the merger of dealerships of these three brands in Europe as a result of the partnership between Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC. This merger of dealerships is part of Fiat's goal to increase the sale of Chrysler and Jeep vehicles outside the U.S. as a result of its partnership with the struggling U.S. car maker.

Francois is also responsible for the Chrysler brand in the U.S., where he is working to improve its battered image. In Europe, Chrysler will be sold under the Lancia brand because the U.S. brand is less known than the Italian one. Only in the U.K. and Ireland will Chrysler's brand remain.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the motor show at Fiat's new flagship store in the centre of the city, Francois said the number of dealers in 13 European Union member countries will rise from 355 this year to 540 in 2011.

The combined number of Lancia, Chrysler and Jeep dealers in the region totalled some 700 before their merger, he said. "(We'll take) the best of both worlds," he said. In Italy, the number of Lancia dealers will remain at about 180, he said.

The aim is to have more than 1,000 dealerships across Europe by 2014.

Francois also said he planned to launch new models next year, including a five-door version of the Ypsilon city car as well as Chrysler's 300C and Grand Voyager, which will be sold under the Lancia brand.

Francois said Chrysler will help Lancia fill out is offering with vehicles for the upper end of the range.

In Lancia's home market of Italy, he aimed to increase its share of the market to 7% in 2012 from a little less than 5% in 2009.

As for the Chrysler group, its presence in Europe including Italy is tiny.

In the first eight months of the year, the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands sold a combined 24,740 units in the European Union and EFTA markets, 0.3% of the total, according to industry figures. That share is smaller than the 1.6% controlled by Volvo Car Corp, the troubled Swedish car maker that was bought by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. from Ford Motor Co. (F).

For the same period, Lancia sold 72,921 units in the region. Although the number is nearly three times as much as those three U.S. brands, its market share was still only 0.8% share.

-By Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2010 14:19 ET (18:19 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 02 19 PM EDT 09-29-10

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