Steve Zanlunghi

“I BOUGHT a Jeep” may have been the catch-cry of the many thousands of people who tried the iconic brand for the first time during its boom years, but “I bought a Jeep” became a rod for the backs of the people who were supposed to look after the new crop of Jeep customers.

According to the CEO of Jeep parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia, Steve Zanlunghi, the company was unable to manage Jeep’s growth and his focus since taking the helm of FCA has been to develop a strategy to get control of its relationship with the customer base and make sure their issues are finally addressed.

Dealers were this week briefed on a new program which is the last stage of its two-year overhaul of its entire aftersales processes. The next stage will include a run of new models but will also include FCA Australia shaking-up its dealer network in order to get a consistent commitment from its retailers.

Details of the plan put to dealers on Wednesday, which he said would benefit both dealers and customers, would not be revealed by the company until early next year.

Speaking to journalists at a media briefing on the new Compass SUV, Mr Zanlunghi said the latest plans were hoped to rectify the “uncontrolled growth” of the company in previous years that he said “got us in trouble in the first place”.

“We now want to control growth and manage the car parc and ensure our customers are taken care of properly with the right facilities,” he said.

“In the past we lost our focus on the customer. I want to make sure the customer focus remains there.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk

“We’ve been working on a lot of different things but most specifically on our aftersales and taking care of customers, because that is key.

“There are a few things that have to be done, including helping dealers take care of their customers.

“This program basically follows up on the work we have done previously. We have new processes and new systems and customer programs now in place.

“Now we are making sure the dealers have their house in order.”

Jeep has high hopes for the payback from its recently-introduced ‘There and Back Guarantee’ package that comprises a five-year warranty, roadside assistance and capped-price service program.

Mr Zanlunghi said: “We know we have changed customer perceptions because when we get our sales satisfaction surveys back we have people writing they did not consider a Jeep until they found out about the There and Back Guarantee.”

The new warranty pack is the latest retail product that aims to repair brand damage that Mr Zanlunghi said started in Australia in previous years.

FCA Australia has made changes to its logistics and distribution departments, and Mr Zanlunghi said its warehousing now had a 96 per cent fill rate.

“So when a dealer orders a part, it’s available 96 per cent of the time. That helps dealers fix cars quicker and get customers back on the road. The industry benchmark is 92 per cent.”

Jeep Compass

Before the warranty program was launched, Mr Zanlunghi said customer perception “probably wasn’t where we needed it to be”.

“After we launched There and Back, our perception rating improved pretty dramatically,” he said.

“I think there is always room for improvement. We’re not on top, we’re about the middle of the pack.”

One other factor to be improved will be product range. Mr Zanlunghi said Jeep had been through “a dry product lifecycle”.

“Now we’re gearing up for the biggest product change in Jeep Australia’s history that we think will change things dramatically for us,” he said.

“This time next year, with everything coming out, we’ll be – fundamentally – in a different place.”

Jeep, which launched a refreshed Grand Cherokee in June, will in 12 months launch four new products – Compass, Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, Wrangler and Cherokee – and one refreshed model, the Renegade.

Jeep Compass Trailhawk

“We need to make sure we have our house in order and have the foundations in preparation to launch these vehicles,” Mr Zanlunghi said.

But while these steps behind the scenes have been underway for almost two years, they have yet to make significant changes to sales.

Mr Zanlunghi told GoAutoNews Premium that its sales performance was attributed to the model line-up.

“The Grand Cherokee was the first vehicle we have renewed,” he said.

“Now we have Compass, and that will be followed by the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, the Wrangler, then a refreshed Renegade and Cherokee.”

Mr Zanlunghi said Wrangler sales were down because Australia could not get sufficient vehicles to meet demand, though that has now been rectified with a change in production lines.

“So if you look at the numbers this year, we had a Compass that we were selling 200-300 a month and we haven’t had that since it was discontinued in December last year. It’s difficult to compare this year with last year.

“But I think that next year you will see a very different set of numbers.”

By Neil Dowling and John Mellor

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk