Tuesday 13th August 2019

Dodge and Ram set for UK return

200 Dodge and Ram models might be sold in Britain each year via a planned expansion of the UK dealer network

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Dodge and Ram models could become a more common sight on UK roads if expansion plans for official FCA importer AGT Europe go ahead. The European importer is seeking to partner with British dealers who presently import American cars, pushing the annual import number up to 200 models and making it easier for UK buyers to get their hands on machines like the 797hp SRT Hellcat Redeye and 485hp R/T Scat Pack.

Currently, only a small handful of Dodge and Ram dealers exist in Britain, like David Boatwright, which is one of the latest to add products from the American brands to its stock list. But as reported by AM-Online, AGT believes there’s a significant portion of untapped demand for American-built metal, so it intends to add three of four more dealers to the UK supply stream.

AGT has form in this area as it already sells 20,000 cars per year on the continent, via a long list of specialist US car dealers. That would mean the anticipated UK expansion would represent a tiny portion of its total sales, but with British buyers so often going for high-spec and high-performance variants, the business model might yet prove significant. The firm believes wealthy entrepreneurs and business owners would be among its main customer demographic – and you'd imagine quite a few PHers, as well.

Giovanni De Luca, AGT Europe’s network development manager, told AM-Online that existing UK Jeep dealers stand out as strong potential first candidates for AGT’s plans, because “the tools and hardware [in the cars] are the same or very similar”. Indeed, the dealers have recently been buoyed by a strong boost in Jeep sales, following the new Wrangler’s introduction in 2018. According to JATO figures, Jeep sales grew by 56% last year with 166,500 European sales, placing it about 16,000 cars ahead of Land Rover.

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Inspired? Search for a Dodge here and a Ram here.

[rix]

I never knew David Boatwright was ‘official’ - I had assumed it was a grey import - anyone know if the cars need IVA and conversion this end or is it done in the factory?