7:53 am, September 30, 2011
CHRYSLER’s brand director has defended the company’s decision not to change the Delta and Ypsilon names.
Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer, Nigel Land said changing the name-plates of the new Chrysler B- and C-segment cars to something other than Ypsilon and Delta would be seen by consumers as ‘hiding’ and was never in the American brand’s strategy.
‘The whole name-plate strategy is a very interesting – for us and for other people who have been involved with this activity,’ said Land.
‘I think what you could achieve is, at an almost superficial level is people who won’t make the association. But people will. I think it would be seen to be hiding behind what is a truly integrated brand.’
Land pointed towards GM firm Opel Vauxhall as a good example of ‘brand integration’: ‘Think Opel Vauxhall – same products under a different name. Years ago you could have the Kadett and the Chevette, but now Corsa is Corsa. You carry the name-plate and by doing that it allows for synergies within the busineses and the economies.
‘Actually, we didn’t have a naming strategy. It’s not as if we had a B- and C- segment product from which we stole the name and changed it for the sake of changing it. We didn’t have a strategy because we haven’t operated in those segments before, so why not adopt the international naming strategy?’
