Christopher K Ellis
Representative director and president
Chrysler Japan Co Ltd

Chrysler makes its mark in Japan

By Chris Betros

Although the imported car market remains small in Japan, some foreign brands are still iconic and well known among car enthusiasts. Chrysler is one car maker with a strong lineup and brand image in Japan. Its PT Cruiser, Grand Voyager, Cherokee and Wrangler Unlimited and 300C sedans are unique vehicles.

It has been a busy past 12 months for Chrysler Japan Representative director and president Christopher K Ellis. The automaker has just finished a product offensive in its three brands of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge with seven cars launched last year and three this year.

Born in Utah and raised in Idaho, Ellis went to college at the University of Utah and did his MBA at Wharton. He joined Ford in England and when the company purchased controlling stake in Mazda, he was sent to Hiroshima for a couple of years (1996-1998). He went back to the States for two years with Ford, then returned to Japan when it purchased Land Rover. In 2002, Ellis was recruited by DaimlerChrysler to work at Mitsubishi. He stayed there until they separated, then moved to his current job.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros visits Ellis at the Chrysler Japan’s headquarters at Daiba to hear more.

What is Chrysler’s image in Japan?

Up until a few years ago, when Japanese heard the name Chrysler, they probably thought of the building in New York City. I think now most people would know it is an American car brand.

What about the image of American cars in general?

There still exists to some extent an old image of American cars as being big, not getting good mileage and quality not up to par with Japanese cars. We have to change this and bring it closer to reality. We do that by improving our products.

How is the Chrysler lineup?

I think we have a really strong lineup. We have a lot of unique vehicles. There is the Chrysler PT Cruiser, instantly recognizable, with strong sales. We have the Grand Voyager minivan. Then there is the 300C sedan which we launched two years ago. From a style standpoint, it is unlike anything else on the road. For Jeep, there is the iconic Cherokee. In the 1990s, we were selling 10,000 of those a year. More recently with Jeep, we have released the Grand Cherokee, Wrangler and a four-door Wrangler which has been extremely popular. We just launched a small Jeep, the Patriot, with good gas mileage. Then you move to Dodge, which we launched just last year. The two vehicles there are the Nitro, an SUV and the Charger. You don’t mistake that for anything else on the road.

How were sales last year?

Last year we sold around 6,000 for all three brands, about the same as the previous year. The imported car market is down but we are growing our volume so far this year. The imported car market has been extremely steady for the past 15 years in both volume and share.

Who tend to be your buyers?

Our cars are premium products and we tend to get older buyers over 40. Our buyers like the American lifestyle that our cars suggest. They want to drive something unique. One interesting trend is that we are getting more women buyers for the Patriot and PT.

Are the cars right-hand drives?

Every product we sell is available with right-hand drive. There are some cars that customers want in left-hand drive, for example, the 300C, and they can order them like that.

How often does Chrysler introduce new models in Japan?

We are at the end of a product offensive with seven cars launched last year and three this year. The Grand Voyager was launched in May. It only has long-wheel base. The short-wheel base will be launched later in the year as a Dodge. That will be a brand new car. We had a Cherokee launch in June, which went very well. That vehicle has a long history in Japan.

What is the loyalty rate like among your customers?

Depending on the product, we do have a high repeat purchase rate, and Cherokee is one of the highest. But our loyalty rate is not as high as I’d like to see it. One of the things we are working on is trying to get more of our previous customers back into our cars. What has been happening is that our customers may have been driving a PT Cruiser and when they wanted to trade it in and get something a little different, maybe something bigger, what did they go to? There was nothing available. Now we are addressing that need with the 300C and Jeep.

How do you market the various brands in Japan?

We don’t do a lot of TV advertising. When we have a major launch, the event tends to get picked up on TV. We have a specific customer base whom we are trying to reach with heavy PR activities. For example, we are trying to get our owners more involved in the website in terms of having them drive some of the content. For the latest Cherokee launch, we went out and did video interviews with customers about their cars and then posted them on the websites.

Tell us about your dealer network.

We have 36 dealer principals with 69 outlets. Of those, five are direct outlets that we own and run, mostly in the Tokyo area. I visit dealerships quite a lot. I try to make at least one visit a month to an independent dealer. I like to talk with customers in the showroom to ask what they like or don’t like. Dealer contact is extremely strong with customers, so we have a national dealer meeting once a year and dealer block meetings four times a year. I frequently speak to the dealer management about what trends they see, how many customers are new or repeats and so on.

What is the waiting time for a car?

If you order something in stock, which is 98% of what we sell, then you can get the car within one or two weeks. We bring all the cars into Toyohashi where we have a plant.

Is there much of a used car market in Japan?

Yes, and it is growing. Some of our vehicles are very popular as used cars, such as the Cherokee and PT Cruiser.

How popular is your website?

Very. In the past, everyone started off with showroom visits. Now, most people start with the website. It’s a bit of a challenge with three brands, so we have three separate websites plus an umbrella company website.

Is Chrysler Japan involved in any CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities?

We try to do charity events at least once a year. With our launch activities for the 300C, we did a big charity auction for the Make A Wish Foundation. We don’t typically give a car away. What we’ll do is give a free year lease, depending on the event.

How many staff do you have?

Here we have 52 people. Most of the back office functions we get from the Mercedes side. That’s the way it was done before the split.

What is your management style?

I’m hands on in some areas. I really want staff to take ownership of their particular area, so I try to empower them as much as possible. I like to have staff meetings once a week with the entire staff because I want the information to be shared among everybody. In many ways, you don’t have to be as explicit as you would in the U.S. about getting something done. On the other hand, people may head off in a totally different direction from where you want to go. I really try to be careful about that.

What is a typical day for you?

I take my kids to the school bus by 7:30 and then head to the office. I get here about 8. I have my Blackberry so I can work outside. I am usually in most of the day. Often, I have a lot of meetings, some of them off site. Some nights I have dinners with clients and dealers. I try not to work on weekends unless there is an event.

What sort of things frustrate you about doing business in Japan?

It still takes a long time to get government approval for imported cars. The automotive committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan works on that, as does the Japan Automobile Importers Association, which is very active in lobbying the Japanese government.

How do you like to relax?

Unfortunately, the sports I like the most are hard to do in Japan, such as water skiing, wake boarding.

By the way, what do you drive?

I drive a 300C and just traded in a Charger. I change cars quite a bit. My wife drives a Jeep Commander.

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Latest 15 of 29 Total Comments Show All

rondh69 at 11:27 AM JST - 18th July

During highway driving the V-8 switches down to 4 cylinders, so its not quite as bad as you think...
Bovinus at 01:24 PM JST - 19th July

American cars are rubbish, let's be honest. They sell a lot in America because there aren't import costs and fees and because of the patriotism factor but outside the US there's simply no logical reason anyone would buy one.
westurn at 01:53 PM JST - 19th July

Bovinus:

"American cars are rubbish, let's be honest."

No, your post is rubbish. American cars recently had the most auto's in the top 3 categories of "US news and world reports" most recent rankings ! I mean 8 out of 12 in some groups ! Not bad for a buncha rubbish !
Coligny at 04:23 PM JST - 19th July

American cars are rubbish, let's be honest." No, your post is rubbish. American cars recently had the most auto's in the top 3 categories of "US news and world reports" most recent rankings ! I mean 8 out of 12 in some groups ! Not bad for a buncha rubbish !

Westurn... could you at least try to make any sense sometimes ? I'd take another Audi over anything american, even if after now 2 years that i got rid of it, my A4 still give me nightmares.

And honestly, in Japan... The resale value of foreign cars is so low that it's like burning money. I was jumping fo joy when I knew that i didn't have to pay to actually get rid of the krauter but was even given a free key-holder... Most beautiful day of my life...
westurn at 07:18 PM JST - 19th July

Coligny... just check out the "auto rankings" heading at "US News and World reports"... it's all very clear. Autos are ranked in various categories... SUV's, trucks, Family Cars, Compacts etc. There are top 3 places for only the best ! And... Cars produced by American Auto manufacturers have more cars in the top three than any other nation ! Throw in the fact that GM has been the worlds #1 car producer for more than 70 years... and well, I stand by my comment that Bovinus' post is "Rubbish" !
Badsey at 12:53 PM JST - 20th July

with any product you want service. If a product is of low quality service must be greater.

I remember a survey where a Jpn woman said she wanted a Jeep (Cherokee) for her next vehicle. Sort of stunned me in her response. You can't really dictate what people want, they will make up their own minds.

The new Challanger (s) are just on the lots (USA). Maybe 1 per dealer (fairly rare). I still believe my 1966 Charger super wedge pentastar is a better car, but time will tell.
RepublicofTexas at 01:27 PM JST - 20th July

I think American cars are rather good now (there are exceptions). Main problem is there is a lingering perception that they are poor in quality, too big, and gas-guzzling. It will take a little while longer for people to start believing in American cars again. However a lot of people are starting to reexamine them.
Coligny at 02:20 PM JST - 21st July

Westurn, no I wont... any auto ranking not having german or japanese cars in most of their top category is rubbish propaganda.
diveit at 09:56 PM JST - 21st July

With gas expensive in Japan and only getting more expensive, why would someone want a Chrysler? Some of the Chrysler cars are smart and good looking but the days of free-for-all in gas spending is over. Cars of the future will be the electric (GM-Volt) or LP gas (Honda-Civic) and worst case senerio diesel cars which can be ran on biofuel and not have to rely on the Middle East. If I want the prestige look of a +$50,000 car, why buy a 300c (in Japan) when a mercedes says +$50,000 better.
Sarge at 10:36 PM JST - 21st July

Yeah, Chrysler made its mark in Japan with the Neon in 2000 - nobody bought it.

"I think we have a really strong lineup."

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
helloklitty at 10:50 PM JST - 21st July

the 300 C is for artists ... check out the black and white two-tone in their tv spot (41 seconds)

http://www.chrysler.com/en/2008/300/gallery/

it seems to be about half the price of a Mercedes
Kwaabish at 03:15 PM JST - 24th July

Let's see if Mr. Ellis still has his job in a couple of weeks as Chrysler still continues to idle or lay off its employees, the latest one announced this week involving salaried employees....
KitsuneYoukai at 05:39 AM JST - 8th August

Chrysler isn;t the only one laying off employees and cutting back on production so do make it look like it is just US automakers in a hole. There are some good US cars and some good foreign cars but nowadays where fashion si a big thing it is what is different and liek anotehr poster stated, what people want. If US cars were that bad I don't think anyone would be buying them. US cars are getting better no doubt about that. All those speaking rubbish must be eating it.
chardk1 at 05:49 PM JST - 13th August

You'd be nuts to buy an American car in Japan considering the premium you have to pay, and you don't get those fat American rebates. For $35,000 a Hemi 300C looks pretty good but 55 million yen for the V6?! I'll pass, thanks.
chardk1 at 05:50 PM JST - 13th August

I'm sorry, 5.5 million yen. Still outrageous!