Chrysler Raises Durango’s Profile Along With Output

JOLIET, IL – Now it's Durango's turn.

Chrysler’s Jefferson North plant in Detroit has been busy producing enough Jeep Grand Cherokees to meet extremely strong consumer demand, and the Dodge Durango SUV built alongside the Jeep has paid the price in terms of reduced output.

Now that the plant has added a third shift and the new ’14 Durango is on sale, things have changed and Durango no longer is an afterthought.

"Grand Cherokee had a ton of sales momentum going for it, so Durango output was limited and Durango was the best-kept secret in the industry," Bob Broderdorf, head of Dodge-brand SUVs, CUVs and multipurpose vehicles, says during the annual Midwest Automotive Media Assn. fall rally for new-model-year vehicles.

"Now that we have the third shift going, we're getting an ample supply of Durangos. We now have more output from more production capacity and have about 4,000 (units) on the ground, an ample supply to start the fourth quarter when fullsize SUVs usually do well. We are selling them as fast as we can."

Broderdorf says while September Durango sales were strong, up 66% from a year ago, August sales soared 117%, though that month’s gain reflected incentives offered on ’13 models to make room for the new ’14s. He says early demand for the new model hasn't required similar incentives and many of the SUVs are going out the door fully loaded.

The Dodge executive won't forecast how well he expects the new Durango to sell, but says the added production capacity created by the third shift means "anyone who wants one will be able to get one."

Demand is expected to be evenly divided among the base SXT, midlevel Limited and premium Citadel trim levels.

Durango offers a choice of the 5.7L Hemi V-8 or 3.6L Pentastar V-6, both with a new 8-speed automatic Broderdorf says helps deliver 15% better mileage in the V-8, 13% in the V-6.

He doesn't expect concerns over gasoline prices or SUV fuel economy to adversely impact Durango demand, especially with the Hemi V-8, which in addition to the new 8-speed offers cylinder deactivation to shut off four cylinders when not needed.

"Since 2009, the industry has sold 1.5 million fullsize SUVs and crossovers annually, so it's still a big market,” Broderdorf says. “Others offer car-based SUV platforms that can only tow up to 5,000 lbs. (2,270 kg), but we still offer a platform that can tow over 7,000 lbs. (3,177 kg).

“And while it’s able to tow more than 7,000 lbs. (3,175 kg), our Durango V-8 gets 25 mpg (9.4 L/100 km) highway, better than the Toyota Highlander with a V-6."

While the Grand Cherokee built alongside the Durango offers a 3.0L V-6 turbodiesel engine for optimum mileage, Broderdorf says there are no immediate plans to offer one in the Durango.

"For now, Grand Cherokee is our 5-passenger SUV with two rows of seats, Durango our 6- or 7-passenger SUV with three rows. We're going to watch what the diesel does in Grand Cherokee. If there's a market demand for a diesel – if consumers ask for one – we could do it in Durango," he says.