Chrysler Group LLC Is First Automotive Company to Introduce Vehicle-information Apps

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Last year, Chrysler Group was the first automotive company to replace traditional, bulky owner manuals with DVDs and user guides. This year, the company is introducing the industry's first smartphone vehicle-information application. Information that used to be stuffed into the glove box will now be at your fingertips.

In addition to general vehicle information including vehicle operation, maintenance and warranty, this new app offers product-feature video demonstrations, connections with fellow owners via the company's brands on social media sites, and access to customer care and 24-hour road-side assistance.

"With our vehicle-information app, we are taking customer care to a new level by creating a convenient, on-demand channel of communication with our customers," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar®, Chrysler Group LLC. "Creating this new channel of communication will enhance the customer experience. And it's a great example of how we can add value to our vehicles and build brand identity. This new app will also be a source for potential customers to learn about our vehicles."

The vehicle-information app for the all-new 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee will be available for download on to personal smartphones.  The vehicle-information app, developed by Michigan-based Tweddle Group, is designed to support vehicles in the U.S. market.  The app will first be available for iPhone® and later for BlackBerry® and Android™ devices on major mobile carriers.

The application, which is free to the consumer, will eventually phase into future Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles in the U.S. by the end of this year.

"Tweddle is pleased to extend our long-time relationship with Chrysler Group by enhancing the consumer relationship with their vehicles through mobile applications," said Andrew Tweddle, Tweddle Group President and CEO. "This app will provide Chrysler Group's customers with a dynamic tool that will enable them to get the most out of the features and capabilities offered in their new vehicles."

App Features

New Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram Truck smartphone vehicle-information apps will complement existing user guides and DVDs that are currently provided with each vehicle. Each vehicle-information app will allow the consumer to browse functional categories and view detailed topics of interest relative to their specific vehicle.

Key feature categories include product information, vehicle operating instructions, vehicle maintenance schedules, service contract details, warning lights and controls, warranty information and customer assistance. Other features and benefits include links to Mopar parts and accessories, product brand gear and merchandise and social media sites. The app will also contain high-resolution product information images and videos.

Mopar-First Features

In addition to vehicle-information apps, Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Electronic owner manuals: first to offer traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• FLO TV: first to offer live, mobile television
• Wifi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• wiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network

About Chrysler Group LLC

Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 from a global strategic alliance with Fiat Group, produces Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Truck, Mopar and Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) brand vehicles and products. With the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete on a global scale, the alliance builds on Chrysler's culture of innovation – first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925 – and Fiat's complementary technology, from a company whose heritage dates back to 1899.

Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., Chrysler Group LLC's product lineup features some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500. Fiat will contribute world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-sized cars, allowing Chrysler Group to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles.

About Mopar

Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand.

Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles, a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide.

When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle-car era. The former Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth "package cars" equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of "special parts" for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division, called Mopar Performance Parts, in order to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

About Tweddle Group

For more than 55 years, Tweddle Group has remained a leading provider of information and publishing solutions for automotive OEMs and their suppliers. Tweddle's unique combination of services encompasses the full spectrum of owner communications and technical publishing: information development, management, and delivery of products designed to enhance the overall connected owner experience. With offices in Detroit, Seattle, Brussels and Shanghai, OEMs rely on Tweddle to deliver innovative solutions to create a brand-specific consumer relationship with their vehicle, the dealer, and the automotive manufacturer.

SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC