Chrysler dealers ask for new ads to slow sales plunge

Chrysler Group LLC dealers have asked the company to pull new television ads and restore regional marketing budgets after U.S. sales declined 25 percent in November, people familiar with the matter said.

Members of Chrysler's national dealer council, an advisory body to the automaker, called for the ads to be stopped in a phone call with the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company's sales leadership this week, said two people with knowledge of the request who asked not to be identified because the conversation was private.

Dealers, frustrated that narrower incentives and plunging sales are hurting their profits, are pushing back against Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne's strategy. His five-year business plan, presented last month, aims to rebuild the company's brands and reduce incentive spending. The transition could be "painful," he said.

"It is a little difficult for us to understand because it is far different from what we were used to seeing," said Larry Reid, owner of White Bear Dodge in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Reid was not on the call with management. "The message to us is that it is branding, branding, branding, and maybe that will work."

The advertisements, which began in September, focus on lifestyles, and dealers complained that some only briefly show vehicles. One that began running last month shows ticking clocks while a voice describes a Jeep owner's desire to not be constrained by the daily grind. In the final moments, it shows a Wrangler along with the tagline "I live. I ride. I am. Jeep."

Show Vehicles

The dealers would like to have Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge ads that show the vehicles more and highlight features, price and available bargains to counter marketing claims of other automakers, the people said.