Mike Manley’s priority is to solve the problems in China. More than the debt target, the reposition of Fiat or the revival of Alfa Romeo plan, his main task is to address the sales issue of Jeep in the world’s largest market. It was the main cause of the tumble of the stock price in late July, when Manley took over as FCA’s first non-Italian CEO.
Marchionne did the first part of the task by localizing the production of most of Jeep models. But the second part is still to take place as the popularity of Jeep brand dissipates. The latest results indicate that all locally made Jeeps posted big sales declines. In July, Jeep total sales fell by 29% to only 9.200 units, which is definitely higher than the market’s average fall of 5%.
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