David Kelleher, a car dealer in suburban Philadelphia, said he’s in uncharted emotional territory: He’s excited about a new Chrysler sedan.
“This car won’t disappoint people -- there’s zero chance,” Kelleher said about the redesigned Chrysler 200, which will arrive on lots in May to succeed the existing 200 and the Sebring, which he said were good values but struggled to compete with the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
“I have never, ever sold a high-quality, desirable car in that segment,” he said. “But this is a really nice car.”
It would have to be. While Chrysler Group has logged 48 straight months of sales increases in the wake of its government-sponsored bankruptcy, much of the advances have been driven by the company’s trucks, SUVs and minivans.
The 200 is Chrysler’s attempt to claw its way higher in one of the most fiercely contested corners of the U.S. auto market, the $5.8 billion-a-year segment for mid-sized sedans. While Honda, Toyota and Nissan are less dominant than they were a decade ago, their Accords, Camrys and Altimas still account for 48 percent of U.S. sales volume in the segment, according to Autodata Corp. The existing Chrysler 200 is eighth out of 12 models in the segment.
IHS Automotive predicts that Chrysler is poised to sell 180,000 of the cars a year by 2016, up almost 50 percent from last year’s mark and enough to give the vehicle the seventh spot in the segment, if others’ sales were to remain steady.