After Fiat Chrysler Cars merges with PSA Group early subsequent 12 months, FCA sellers are desirous to have a Jeep drive on the helm in Mike Manley.

Manley, FCA’s CEO, will develop into head of Americas for the brand new firm, referred to as Stellantis, FCA mentioned final week.
“Many of the sellers would attribute the explosion of the Jeep product to Mike Manley,” mentioned Wes Lutz, president of Excessive Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Jackson, Mich. “He has executed an impressive job with Jeep. He’s main at a time when we’ve got three super merchandise within the pipeline.”

The brand new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer and a redesigned Grand Cherokee are slated go on sale in 2021.

“He was excellent at listening,” Lutz mentioned. “We’re doing a third-row seat within the Grand Cherokee, which is one thing we would have liked. It may be an superior product for us.”

Manley, 56, has all the time been “a product man,” mentioned Steve Kalafer, CEO of Flemington Automobile & Truck Nation in New Jersey. He is not heat and fuzzy, however he is passionate, Kalafer mentioned. And he is an knowledgeable in a number of points of the enterprise.

“He is aware of the vendor physique very, very properly throughout North America,” Kalafer mentioned.

“I feel he can be very useful in getting [Stellantis] began with an environment friendly, first-class distribution system instantly.”

David Kelleher, president of David Auto Group in Glen Mills, Pa., referred to as Manley a “exhausting charger” with a deep understanding of the North American enterprise.

Kelleher is assured Manley will make sure the wants of U.S. sellers are represented within the new world group.

“When you carry him sensible concepts that occur to be good for the sellers and he additionally sees one thing for your entire FCA entity, he’ll act on them,” he mentioned. “You do not go to Mike with one thing that is good for just one social gathering.”

Manley will lead Stellantis’ operations within the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Argentina.

He has labored with PSA CEO Carlos Tavares for greater than a 12 months to rearrange the merger, which is predicted to shut earlier than April.

Stellantis would be the fourth-largest world automaker by quantity, primarily based on 2019 gross sales.

Manley succeeded the late Sergio Marchionne as FCA’s CEO in July 2018, after main Jeep from 2009 to 2018 and Ram from 2015 to 2018. Below Manley, Jeep quadrupled its world gross sales.

“The truth that as FCA we’re getting into this new and thrilling period in such very robust, strong form is a superb tribute to him and his management fashion,” FCA Chairman John Elkann, who can be chairman of Stellantis, mentioned in a letter to workers.

FCA’s U.S. light-vehicle gross sales fell 21 p.c within the first three quarters of 2020 in contrast with an 18.4 p.c decline for the trade. FCA and different automakers are nonetheless making an attempt to restock after closing North American vegetation for 2 months within the spring to curb the unfold of the coronavirus.

Sellers are optimistic concerning the merger, product pipeline and Manley’s continued management, Lutz mentioned. “The sellers usually are actually excited concerning the subsequent chapter,” he mentioned.

Michael Martinez and Peter Sigal contributed to this report.