I found out that Chrysler (now owned by FIAT) is planning to separate out it’s Ram truck line to be its own independent brand. Much like Jeep is to Chrysler, soon you won’t be calling it a Dodge Ram but just “Ram.” The strategy is to establish Ram as the sportsman’s truck. They figure Ford and Chevy are both positioning their trucks as “work trucks” so they ought to take a different angle. Turns out that’s what most Ram owners use them for anyways. Things like towing Sea-Doo’s, ATV’s, canoes, etc.

This could be the start of a different strategy to take on automotive brand architecture. Ford, Chevy, Toyota, etc. have all sorts of models under one brand name. Yes they have Lincoln, Buick, etc. for the higher end models but under one brand name you’ll have cars, SUV’s and trucks. This move on Chrysler’s part would give its truck line perceived independence. Much like Jeep is their SUV brand, RAM will be their truck brand. Perhaps Dodge could be their muscle/sports car brand and Chrysler their luxury vehicle brand.

I don’t quite know all the pros/cons of this approach but having seen the way Jeep can be successful selling only SUV’s, maybe it will work. If anything it’s a good protective strategy. Like a diversified portfolio, when one industry (brand) goes south, the others will hopefully stand strong. So when Chrysler says it wants to make bicycles, their idiocy wont be attributed to the brand value of a Jeep, or Ram.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Random. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.