Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles Australia (FCA Australia) has announced it will discontinue the Chrysler brand in Australia after a decade of dwindling sales and the decision to end production of right-hand-drive cars.

“The global push towards electrification and focus on SUVs has resulted in a consolidation of the overall product line-up in Australia,” the company said in a statement.

Although now a distant memory, Chrysler began manufacturing vehicles in Australia in 1951.

Following a string of successful Valiant and Charger Models in the 1970s, Chrysler became the third biggest manufacturer of motor vehicles in Australia after Holden and Ford.

Chrysler was eventually purchased by Mitsubishi in 1980 but returned to Australia in 1994 with a variety of Jeep vehicles and the Chrysler Neon small sedan. Other models followed including the Chrysler Voyager people mover and PT Cruiser hatchback.

After a brief burst of sales in the late 1990s and 2000s, Chrysler sales have effectively been in freefall ever since.

Chrysler currently sells a single model in Australia, the 300 sedan, of which sales have been slowly declining in recent years. Once the remaining units are sold, they will not be replaced. As of October 2021, only 151 Chrysler vehicles have been sold for the year, a 23 per cent decline versus the same period last year.

This news brings the affordable V8 sedan era to an end in Australia, after the demise of the similar-priced Ford and Holden V8 sedans when local manufacturing ended in 2017.

FCA Australia Managing Director Kevin Flynn added “Chrysler has held a very special place in the heart of many Australians, and we are proud of its history here.”

The brand remains committed to the supply of parts for Chrysler vehicles, with all Jeep dealerships across the country to carry out Chrysler servicing.

The marque will now turn its focus to electrification.

“We are very excited about this new era of mobility. Stellantis is dedicated to becoming the market leader in low-emission vehicles and committed to developing the most capable and sustainable high-performing and four-wheel drive vehicles in the world.”

Chrysler Sales in Australia

• 2021 October YTD: 151
• 2020 217
• 2019 291
• 2018 249
• 2017 257
• 2016 461
• 2015 924
• 2014 1656
• 2013 2675
• 2012 1357
• 2011 579
• 2010 1463
• 2009 1817
• 2008 2468
• 2007 3058
• 2006 3609
• 2005 2478
• 2004 2166
• 2003 2008
• 2002 2105
• 2001 2725
• 2000 6144
• 1999 5506
• 1998 5540

Sources:

Chrysler | Chrysler brand bids farewell to Australia 

Drive | Chrysler axed in Australia as right-hand-drive production ends

19 November 2021