Chrysler 300 faces chop as FCA maps large-car strategy

THE Chrysler 300 is expected to stay in showrooms until the end of the decade as Fiat Chrysler prepares its next cycle of large cars.

According to US outlet Automotive News an update is planned for the 2018 model year to smooth out some of the almost six-year-old 300’s wrinkles, but by the time the current 300 is expected to be pensioned off it will have notched up a huge nine years on the market.

And there’s no guarantee of a successor, either.

FCA, Chrysler’s parent company, is in the process of figuring out its future large-car line-up. The Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and the Charger’s two-door counterpart, the Challenger, will be in need of replacements later this decade, however, it’s believed only two of the three will receive one.

And according to Automotive News’ sources, it’s the slower-selling 300 that has its neck on the chopping block. FCA is keen on reducing sales cannibalisation between its brands – which include Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat and Alfa Romeo – and having two similarly sized large sedans sold under two different badges works against that goal.

What does that mean for Australia? Nothing as yet. FCA’s American large cars are expected to transition to a stretched version of the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s “Giorgio” platform, and with that architecture already engineered to accommodate a right-hand-drive layout, the door remains open for exports to Australia.

That also means those pining for Dodge’s brawny Charger and Challenger duo may finally get what they’ve been asking for – at the expense of Chrysler 300 fans. We should find out in five years.