Stellantis withdraws from Chicago Auto Show

[JLeco2022]

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/s...XhIExtz8Gq1EBXXAfReu30i-QRsY81B0OlFG-kNZArvZg

Stellantis withdraws from Chicago Auto Show, marking first absence in almost a century

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[ecidiego]

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/s...XhIExtz8Gq1EBXXAfReu30i-QRsY81B0OlFG-kNZArvZg

It's like anything these days - retail shows, CES for electronics, E3 for gaming - thing of the past.

 

[rcadden]

No surprise. Companies that have long historical presences at major trade shows like that often re-evaluate periodically and skip years. Sometimes they see the hit and come back, other times they don't.

Shows that like that are a MASSIVE expenditure. Like, Super Bowl-level budgets (and often even higher if you factor in the salary of all the people who get involved in a project like that). They usually start planning literally the weekend after the previous one, and in some companies I've worked with, they have two teams - one planning 2024, for instance, and the other already starting to plan out 2025 while the 2024 event is still happening.

 

[JEEP4U]

Sales are tanking. Time to cut back.

 

[ecidiego]

Sales are tanking. Time to cut back.

Yep. Until interest rates go down or they drastically lower prices, it's over.

Manufacturers were able to raise prices to obscene levels due to low interest rates on car loans. Same with houses.

Doesn't fly with current rates.

 

[SoK66]

I retired from a Jeep competitor. When a MFR stops doing auto shows they are in financial distress and cutting back everywhere. (You think those 15% discounts on overpriced products just happens?) Each business unit has to sacrifice one of their children, Sales & Marketing gave up auto shows. Next will come the Automotive News articles saying "Stellantis wasn't there", etc. A senior VP will get hit up with embarrassing questions about it at something else public, the dealers will howl and Sales & Marketing will smile, knowing as long as the current regime stays in place (iffy) their auto shows will be back on. (I've seen this movie.)

 

[Old Jeeper]

No surprise. Companies that have long historical presences at major trade shows like that often re-evaluate periodically and skip years. Sometimes they see the hit and come back, other times they don't.

Shows that like that are a MASSIVE expenditure. Like, Super Bowl-level budgets (and often even higher if you factor in the salary of all the people who get involved in a project like that). They usually start planning literally the weekend after the previous one, and in some companies I've worked with, they have two teams - one planning 2024, for instance, and the other already starting to plan out 2025 while the 2024 event is still happening.

To be honest, not sure there is anything in the Chrysler camp other than Jeep that I would EVER buy.

If I were Chrysler my focus would be on Jeep!

 

[LARSONEM]

Jeep needs to open their eyes and start catering to the customers. The Jeep offerings are a joke right now for the Rubicon model between the base and the X. You can either buy and under equipped base model at an exorbitant price or buy and over equipped model at and extra exorbitant price. Jeep needs to give the customer a way to go ala carte and build it their way. It’s BS to make the customer build it Jeep’s way for the price they want. I’m thinking of things like dropping the XR on the base Jeep. Forcing a winch with steel bumper group on the base but offering steel bumpers on the X while having to add the winch. The dual top group being the only way to get a soft top on an X. Or making the customer take painted fenders on the X. Jeep needs to go back to one Rubicon and left the customer configure it to their liking. So glad I bought in 2022.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

There's a couple of articles out there, I think one from something like moparinsider or whatever, saying they are cutting back on all NA auto shows - made it sound like they won't be in many, if any at all.
The strike, covid before that, crazy supply issues, and more (including some possible management issues, but anything anyone says is all speculation there) and they are hurting. It's also true that the auto shows just don't have the impact they once had. It's not as much of an advantage with the internet and technology out there. I think you'll see auto shows shrink just because............

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Yep. Until interest rates go down or they drastically lower prices, it's over.

Manufacturers were able to raise prices to obscene levels due to low interest rates on car loans. Same with houses.

Doesn't fly with current rates.

The current interest rates shouldn't be that much of an issue. Rates like we have now were normal before the 2009 Recession hit.

What's strangling the manufactures nearly to death are the EV mandates. And every EV they are selling is at a massive loss. The major manufacturers, not being "green" don't get carbon credits. They have to buy them from companies like Tesla.

Why isn't the government mandating Tesla to make gas powered cars? (rhetorical question)

There is no way I would start any kind of business in our country right now with the convoluted series of regulatory hurdles and pitfalls that need to be navigated. And if I had a large company, I would probably want to sell it for what I could get for it.

I would not be surprised to see Stellantis selling off their North American assets in the not too distant future. Stellantis is Peugeot, who has has out of the North American market for decades and made no attempt to return.

Foreign companies who have owned Jeep; Renault, DaimlerBenz, Cerberus (Canadian), Fiat, Stellantis. With the exception of Mercedes, none of those companies have ever had any staying power in the US market. Cerberus was not a car company.

So, I think we can point to several factors all coming together to makes times especially tough for Stellantis in the US.

A rapidly weakening dollar
Regulatory overreach, i.e. EPA fuel economy standards
Impossible to meet mandates for EVs
Rising interest rates
Sharply increased labor expenses after the UAW strike
Logistic (supply chain) issues with foreign made parts, especially Chinese made parts
Quality control issues, which is saving them money on the initial build and costing them more on warranty repairs
Inflation, which ties into a weaken dollar and high interest rates
Customer apathy

Customer apathy is a problem that marketers and advertising can cure. The problem is that It's extremely difficult to produce advertising that appeals to the the core of the Jeep brand. I was reading an article a few days ago about how embedded ESG is into the production world of the advertising industry. There's now way to make a commercial right now with rugged outdoor types enjoying their Jeep in an outdoor setting.

Stellantis has stated that there will be no Super Bowl ad this year, they have pulled out of all major car shows, and I can't remember the last time I saw an actual commercial for a Stellantis product other than for Ram trucks.

Let's see what kind of lackluster offerings they have for the Easter Jeep Safari. I predict yet more attempts to get Jeep people excited about electric, and not much more.

In the case of Stellantis, customer apathy seems to have directly tied into manufacturer apathy. Stellantis right now seems like that guy at work who's productivity has slowed way down, and you know he's about to quit or get fired.

 

[JLeco2022]

biggest coffin nail will be raising wages, i feel like zero people really understand how inflation works. We need people to take pride in their work, but sadly most people just want to work the system and have zero pride

 

[58Willys]

Warranty costs, recall costs, and drop in sales due in part to piss poor customer service; is impacting the bottom line. Time to cut costs and keep those executive bonuses up.

 

[Stetson]

Things are changing, not just with cars but with everything else too. I just read an article about a restaurant owner who has $93k of costs per month. He has been raising prices to try and cover that number, which he said he barely does.

times are changing.

 

[Bayrat]

Nobody who values their life goes to Chicago anymore.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

To be honest, not sure there is anything in the Chrysler camp other than Jeep that I would EVER buy.

If I were Chrysler my focus would be on Jeep!

Don't forget about RAM! If anything happens to the RAM or Jeep brands, It will defeat me!!

I mean, look at this sexy beast!!!

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