Chrysler to Halve SUV Lineup

Duplications and redundancies are headed for the chopping

block at Chrysler,

according to business information source, Bloomberg.

Chrysler LLC's Jim Press says that the smallest of the big three will cut its

SUV lineup in half.

Chrysler is known for possessing many redundancies within

its lineup. On the SUV side of things, there's the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge

Durango, and the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty to name a couple. Chrysler has already acknowledged

that only one of its two large SUVs will go on in the next generation. There

are even a couple of redundancies within the Jeep brand, the urban Compass and the more

traditional Patriot to name one. And don't forget that these two are also related to the Dodge

Caliber. With the Commander being terminated at the end of its product life

cycle and one of its smallest crossovers headed for the block, Jeep's total product lineup will drop by two models. Without

the Aspen, Chrysler would lose its only SUV, although, the popularity of large

SUVs is

decreasing.

are not covering,” Press says.

While the problem of duplication isn't much of an issue here in America, where Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles are sold separately or

twinned together, in some other markets, the brands can be seen sold together under one roof.

For things to work out according to Press' plans, Chrysler

would need to consolidate and reduce its dealerships, something that won't

happen overnight. This task will take a couple of years, at the minimum.