DETROIT -- Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne acknowledged mistakes in the way the company developed and launched the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, and vowed to never repeat them.
"What we've learned is that we'll never repeat it. We're never going to take a plant down and be out of the market for over a year," Marchionne told analysts in a conference call today. "We were just naked in 2013" in the mid-sized SUV segment after dealers sold all the 2012 Jeep Libertys last year.
At sales of 75,483 units, the Jeep Liberty was the brand's third-best selling vehicle in the United States in 2012, behind the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler. The Liberty represented under 5 percent of the automaker's total U.S. sales in 2012 of 1,651,787 units.