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Are Stellantis' (RAM, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler) Dealers Struggling?

I run Google Ads for franchised car dealers, including several Stellantis stores in Texas, Florida and Georgia. It's getting worse every month.

A few insights:

I've noticed considerable drops in OEM leads (from jeep.com, ram.com, etc)

Jeep Gladiators are creeping up on 90 days at every location, and they are all flush with Dodge Chargers and Challengers (60-80 units).

Meanwhile Stellantis wants to market the Hornet, which dealerships typically have fewer than 5 of.

It's a Stallantis problem. GMC dealers get still get over MSRP on anything with a AT4 badge, Hyundai is strong, Ford and Toyota are steady....

Justin
 
I wonder if the Italians understand the Yankees. I don't want a Hornet or the Dart or the fiat 500. I sort of want my inline 6 back.

Ford in the same sentence as Toyota is weird.
I agree, the inline 6 was bulletproof. As much as I enjoyed seeing a Hemi everything but the Pacifica there was no way CDJR was going to meet EPA requirements without importing some crappy cars from overseas.
 
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Is re-invoicing indicative of potential issues? ;-) For instance, the Jeep Summit/Overland models have seen a reduction in MSRP by $4,000, the Limited by $3,500, and the Laredo (excluding the 4x2 base models) by $2,000. We are expecting new window stickers, but none have arrived yet.

Moreover, we find that this particular OEM is the most challenging to collaborate with among those we deal with (including Ford, Lincoln, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi). Our interactions with the Denver business office have been less than satisfactory, with representatives often lacking in capability (to the point where our OG New Car Manager is more knowledgeable) or being constrained by Stellantis' corporate policies and poor communication.

For example, I recently received a stern email from the "Stellantis Digital Dealer Support Team" stating that our Tekion Service Scheduler was not an approved vendor and demanded its removal from our website within 10 days. This tool has been in use on our site for 15 months without any prior notification of non-compliance when we initially switched to it or in the subsequent months. I responded with an objection, outlining the reasons for using the Tekion scheduler, only to receive a reply where I was merely copied on a ticket they had opened with DDC to initiate the scheduler's removal. This occurred last Friday afternoon. We did contact our Mopar representative, who was unaware of such a policy, but we had to wait until Monday for any further response. I instructed DDC directly to close the ticket and refrain from making any changes, which they complied with despite Stellantis' instructions (my thanks to DDC Support for that). By Monday, it became evident through an email thread, which included both Stellantis and Shift teams, that there was a clear lack of alignment regarding the certified vendor policy at Stellantis. They eventually withdrew their demand without any form of apology or direct communication to me. I was merely included in a CC'd email thread with 11 Stellantis and Shift employees, where someone sensibly noted, "We currently do not have any rules in place for requiring Dealers to use approved Scheduling tools." SMH
 
I've been saying Stallantis is screwed for months now. Ram is the only viable product. Without massive rebates or incentives their core client base simply can't afford their vehicles. Don't even get me started on the Hornet. Have you guys seen how expensive they are? I don't know a single person outside of the car industry who knows what a Hornet is, let alone willing to spend $30k+ on one. Big problems.
 
They've also loaded the dealers with Challengers and Chargers they can't sell. My clients, who are mostly in warm weather states, are loaded with all-wheel drive GT's. It's a race to the bottom on these cars. Wrangler 4XE and any Gladiator can't be given away (up to 23% off here in TX).

@Jon Singo - and Stellantis wants to run commercials for the Hornet, which some dealers don't even have! Plus, it cannibalizes the Jeep lineup (Cherokee + Rennegade).
 
They've also loaded the dealers with Challengers and Chargers they can't sell. My clients, who are mostly in warm weather states, are loaded with all-wheel drive GT's. It's a race to the bottom on these cars. Wrangler 4XE and any Gladiator can't be given away (up to 23% off here in TX).

@Jon Singo - and Stellantis wants to run commercials for the Hornet, which some dealers don't even have! Plus, it cannibalizes the Jeep lineup (Cherokee + Rennegade).
Then there are dealers like the on in our small town that only have 26 CDJR vehicles TOTAL and 5 of the 26 are Hornets.