Chrysler 300C Overtakes Holden Statesman & Ford Fairlane

[JoeT]

Chrysler Attacks Statesman And Fairlane

Joshua Dowling
6 March 2006
www.drive.com.au

Australians are taking a liking to a fancy new American and the local makers are not happy.

Just when Holden and Ford thought things couldn't get any worse for Australia's two favourite cars, the Commodore and Falcon, both brands have found themselves being attacked where it really hurts: their high-profit luxury cars.

Commodore and Falcon sales were at their lowest in 12 years in 2005 - despite four successive years of record new-car sales - thanks to a wave of cheaper, or better-equipped, imported alternatives buoyed by favourable exchange rates.

And with these wounds still fresh, Holden and Ford have started this year by discovering that their luxury Statesman and Fairlane models are also under attack. Figures from January show that the Chrysler 300C - a big American car with overt styling - has overtaken the local heroes in the luxury sedan market.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries says Chrysler sold 131 of its 300C sedans in January to claim 40 per cent of the luxury sedan market, compared with just 55 sales for the Fairlane and 120 sales for the Statesman.

Holden and Ford rightly say that January is typically a slow month for its luxury sedans. But Fairlane sales in January 2006 were half those of the same month in 2005, and Statesman sales dropped by more than half, from 259 in January 2005.

Furthermore, when figures for the past three months are compared (November 2005 to January 2006), it emerges that the Chrysler 300C is shadowing the Statesman (479 sales compared to the Holden's 492 sales) and has a handy lead over the Fairlane, which recorded just 359 sales. And this was in the 300C's first three months on sale.

Also, Chrysler is making more profit on each 300C it sells.

Chrysler says 55 per cent of its customers are private buyers who have paid close to, if not full, recommended retail price for the car. By comparison, about 22 per cent of Statesman sales and 19 per cent of Fairlane sales for the past three months were to private buyers. That means the rest were sold to fleets and government departments at a significant discount - up to 20 per cent off the RRP in some cases.

Chrysler is preparing to add more 300C models to its line-up. In June, the company will introduce a 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel sedan and wagon, and a 3.5-litre V6 petrol wagon, as well as a high performance SRT8 version designed to compete with Holden Special Vehicles' Grange sedan.

Holden has reacted to the slowing sales of the Statesman by introducing a special edition model and has taken the unprecedented step of introducing an all-new Statesman at the same time as the all-new Commodore sedan, due in August.

Customarily, there has been a two- to three-year gap between the release of the basic sedan and the release of the luxury-model Holdens.

It is unclear what Ford has planned for its ailing Fairlane. It still has at least three years before it's replaced by an all-new model. In the meantime, anyone looking to buy a new Statesman or Fairlane is certain to pick up a bargain.


Big Australians: A Decade Of Decline

Year / Statesman / Fairlane

1996 / 4409 / 4145
1997 / 3857 / 4100
1998 / 3806 / 3097
1999 / 4222 / 4487
2000 / 5566 / 2779
2001 / 4971 / 2306
2002 / 4347 / 2001
2003 / 4363 / 2389
2004 / 3640 / 2016
2005 / 2832 / 1829

Annual sales for the past 10 years.
Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Chrysler 300C (Top), Holden Statesman (Middle) & Ford Fairlane (Bottom)

[suckstobeyou]

no wonder it's kicking their asses, look at the cometition!

[Quickening]

I think thats predictable seeing as the 300C is brand new and isn't the Statesman ending its run soon? Wait for the new Statesman and then we shall see

[ByTheLake]

Given those three alternatives pictured, I'd easily select the Chrysler 300C.

[CobaltSScrazy]

Originally Posted by Quickening

I think thats predictable seeing as the 300C is brand new and isn't the Statesman ending its run soon? Wait for the new Statesman and then we shall see

from buick allegedly

[BBDOS CV8]

It's a good byline, but not really accurate. 300C is a competitor to the Fairmont and Calais @ $55-60K. Caprice and Fairlane cost 25% more. And even Ford would have sold 4-5 times more Fairmonts than Chrysler did 300Cs. Holden probably sold ten times as many Calais. Chrysler is not on many fleet lists, so the bit about fleet sales is misleading. Oz Government depts only buy Oz-built cars.

Caprice @ $74K has been the same car for 6 years, and everyone knows the VE Caprice is coming - have done for 6 months. Nothing to do with 300C. Holden has only just released the 6.0 VZ Caprice, a lot of dealers wouldn't have seen one. Plus from the sales stats it's been declining every year since 2000. It still outsells all other luxury vehicles in Oz.

All last year Chrysler had the 300C as the pace car at the V8 Supercars, and at every Auto show in Oz. They claimed to have 500 expressions of interest last October. If that has translated to 460 sales, 6 and V8, that's disappointing for them. They are not on track to sell 6,000 a year at that pace. And they've had TV ads and pretty good coverage in the print media.

Holden is trying to manage VE media coverage to allow them to sell the VZ for the next six months, so all sorts of VZ models are in runout mode. Why they made the CV8Z last year, and the SSZ Commodore and the current deals on VZ Utes. The Caprice runout would be the same.

Unfortunately Australian tastes don't co-incide with US ones, and the 300 is seen as a bit of a boat - people are fascinated, same way as they are in a road smash. Doesn't mean they want to be in one. Plus Aussies pay attention to things like handling and roadholding - somewhere the 300C is taking a bit of flak.

The only comparo so far had the 250Kw 300C using 13mpg overall despite MDS to the 230kw Fairmont @ 16mpg and the 260kw Caprice @ 18. That matters here, even in that class. The Caprice is a far more luxurious car with the extra legroom in the back and things like DVDs in the headrests. Why all the heads of state here, including the US ambassador, use them.

Chrysler needs to sell more like 500 a month to meet their target, not a quarter. When VE lobs in it's various models later this year, the 300C is going to be in even more trouble if it doesn't do better than that.

[Mikkoo]

Originally Posted by BBDOS CV8

It's a good byline, but not really accurate. 300C is a competitor to the Fairmont and Calais @ $55-60K. Caprice and Fairlane cost 25% more. And even Ford would have sold 4-5 times more Fairmonts than Chrysler did 300Cs. Holden probably sold ten times as many Calais. Chrysler is not on many fleet lists, so the bit about fleet sales is misleading. Oz Government depts only buy Oz-built cars.

Caprice @ $74K has been the same car for 6 years, and everyone knows the VE Caprice is coming - have done for 6 months. Nothing to do with 300C. Holden has only just released the 6.0 VZ Caprice, a lot of dealers wouldn't have seen one. Plus from the sales stats it's been declining every year since 2000. It still outsells all other luxury vehicles in Oz.

All last year Chrysler had the 300C as the pace car at the V8 Supercars, and at every Auto show in Oz. They claimed to have 500 expressions of interest last October. If that has translated to 460 sales, 6 and V8, that's disappointing for them. They are not on track to sell 6,000 a year at that pace. And they've had TV ads and pretty good coverage in the print media.

Holden is trying to manage VE media coverage to allow them to sell the VZ for the next six months, so all sorts of VZ models are in runout mode. Why they made the CV8Z last year, and the SSZ Commodore and the current deals on VZ Utes. The Caprice runout would be the same.

Unfortunately Australian tastes don't co-incide with US ones, and the 300 is seen as a bit of a boat - people are fascinated, same way as they are in a road smash. Doesn't mean they want to be in one. Plus Aussies pay attention to things like handling and roadholding - somewhere the 300C is taking a bit of flak.

The only comparo so far had the 250Kw 300C using 13mpg overall despite MDS to the 230kw Fairmont @ 16mpg and the 260kw Caprice @ 18. That matters here, even in that class. The Caprice is a far more luxurious car with the extra legroom in the back and things like DVDs in the headrests. Why all the heads of state here, including the US ambassador, use them.

Chrysler needs to sell more like 500 a month to meet their target, not a quarter. When VE lobs in it's various models later this year, the 300C is going to be in even more trouble if it doesn't do better than that.

Thank you for sheding some add'l light on this subject. Perhaps the
300C has a cult like following, as it harkens back to the days when
big American family cars were bold and overt looking. It brings a
totally different look than it's competition.

[cad1cts]

very, very interesting article. what's disconcerting to me is that only 22% of Statesman sales and 19% of Fairlane sales for the past quarter were to private buyers, versus 55% of 300C sales were to private buyers. is that typical of large australian luxury models? i hope not since i would love having both of those cars here for sale. i get the point about them not being suitable competators to the 300. even still though....it makes me wonder

[cad1cts]

btw- where did BBDOS CV8 find the comparison of the 300, statesman, and fairlane. i'd love to read it if its available online.

[Bravada]

Surprising when you first hear it, but then given pricing of all three models concerned it's only logical. I wonder how would the Charger fare if they could offer it at Commodore/Falcon prices. I'd expect it might do considerably well, so I believe it wouldn't be without reason for Chrysler to consider getting involved into Mitsubishi's underutilized Australian plant...

[zl-1]

The Statesman/Caprice is an old car, so I'm not surprised that a car like the 300 makes a dent in their sales. As for the Fairlane/LTD, it's a bit ugly imo, and I'd never consider it if I was in the market for a new car down under.

[Martino_z]

Its funny because they are all good cars in their own right. The statos and fairlanes look great as government cruisers though, for some reason the white ones look better than the black ones. Yeah as someone else said before the stato's been around since 97 or 98 and the ford since 98 or 99.

[FISH]

Originally Posted by cad1cts

btw- where did BBDOS CV8 find the comparison of the 300, statesman, and fairlane. i'd love to read it if its available online.

It's not available online(yet).

And here is a better pic of the Statesman,

[kenman923]

The 300 is a hot looking car. Side by side with the Statesman and Falcon, I can see why it's a winner.

[BBDOS CV8]

The comparo is a NineMSN one, it is online. They gave the nod to the 300C basically because of novel styling, the build quality and quietness (we get them from Austria), and equipment levels also scored well. Note they compared the older LS1 5.7 Caprice, not the L76 6.0 which is both torquier and more powerful.

http://wheels.carpoint.ninemsn.com.a...ias=wheelsau#2

I have not met anyone here, enthusiast or not, who privately agrees with their styling assessment. I also think the 300C interior I saw at the motor show is pretty tacky, but both those are IMO. Mind you, if the car itself is competent that's less of an issue here. Choice is good, and so is competition.

Chrysler Oz last year said they were hoping to sell 6000, not 1400. The article makes a few other errors.

Caprice and Fairlane get so many fleet sales because they are supplied as official vehicles to 3 levels of government which often has a non-discrimination policy of buy 50% of each. Many are also bought for official CEO or company limos. That's also why they don't have much appeal to status-conscious private owners who'd rather own BM than GM. Holden and Ford both got rid of taxi packs for these a while ago as they saw that as cheapening their image. Lots of white ex-govt. cars get used for limo hires.

I got the Holden consumption wrong - it got 16mpg overall not 18. Still 3mpg better than the 300C with MDS. Considering that is ordinary unleaded and with no VVT or DoD and with the old 4-speed, the VE with six-speed and engine trickery should be even better.