Next gen Chrysler 300C set for 2012

The second-generation 300C is Chrysler's hero car for the 2011 North  American International Motor Show in Detroit, promising updated  styling together with the cabin quality and general refinement missing from the original car.

But there is a giant 'but' for Australia. Right-hand production is not scheduled for at least six months and that means the first supplies of the updated car will not land until 2012. Chrysler Australia says the delay is normal on an all-new model and it has over-stocked with the existing 300C to take it through 2011.

"Historically we've always had a six to nine-month window to get right- hand drive. We're actually loooking at a similar timeframe," says Chrysler spokesman, Dean Bonthorne. "The on-sale timing is quarter one of 2011 in North America. The  current plan is very early in 2012 for Australia."

Chrysler knew about the delay in the final quarter of last year and that's when it started to stockpile the existing 300C. Around 400 cars were landed before the end of the year, but supplies of the $39,990  model - with a 3.5-litre V6 - are already running short.

"There are still a handful of the 3.5-litre V6 petrol cars. We also have the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 and the 6.1-litre SRT V8. The Touring was discontinued some time ago," says Bonthorne. "We allowed to maintain a planned sales volume through the major part  of 2011. And we've got some great deals on those models until the 2012  version arrives."

Chrysler is promising big things with the 300C, its first major model since the American company began a new partnership with Fiat of Italy. The basic body is similar to the existing car, although the windscreen is swept back by around six centimetres with slimmer door pillars to improve visibility. It is also fitted with daytime LED running lamps  to emphasise the new front-end look.

Bonthorne makes no apology for the long wait on the 300C, which is essential to ensure the car gets a fast start in the USA.

"They have pushed ahead to get the North American car ready." He promises the drought of new models in 2011 will be broken early in 2012. "Come 2012 and 2013 we have a huge number of new models coming," Bonthorne says.

A new direction for Chrysler

The new direction at Chrysler Australia is obvious from the top down.

Clyde Campbell, formerly a senior staffer at Mercedes-Benz Australia, is the new managing director and occupies a desk in Dandenong. The new office site is part of the Iveco trucks' facility and reflects  Chrysler's move out of the Daimler family and into its new relationship with Fiat.

Chrysler and Fiat operate totally separately in Australia, partly because the Italian brand is represented by Ateco Automotive as it independent importer.

Chrysler is headed for a relatively quiet showroom year in 2011, with just three models on sale - the soon-to-be superseded 300C, the Grand Voyager people mover and Sebring Cabrio. But it does have the strength of Jeep, including the all-new Grand Cherokee.