Chrysler Group Announces Strategic Agreement That Will Enhance, Grow Service and Parts Business; Mopar, Magneti Marelli and Shell Lubricants Team Up to Offer Comprehensive Service, Parts and Oil for Competitive Vehicles

CENTER LINE, Mich., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Chrysler Group dealerships to offer one-stop service shops for customers who own competitive vehicles
• Chrysler Group dealers to become full-line retail service and tire centers
• Mopar-Magneti Marelli-Shell Lubricants agreement establishes comprehensive servicing of GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia vehicles at Chrysler Group dealerships
• Magneti Marelli brings 26 product lines and more than 3,000 part numbers to Mopar's product portfolio
• Shell Lubricants brings Pennzoil® and Shell Rotella® motor oils, the most preferred brands in their respective categories
• Mopar announces opening of customer-care lines on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern

Last year, more than 2.6 million customers with competitive vehicles visited Chrysler Group dealerships for light maintenance, including oil changes and tire rotations. Today, Chrysler Group's Mopar division announced a strategic agreement with Magneti Marelli and Shell Lubricants that will give its dealership network the ability to fully service competitive vehicles.

"After introducing a number of initiatives to improve service for our customers, including brand-specific customer-care lines, extended service hours during weekdays and weekends and a push for Mopar Express Lanes, taking care of owners with competitive vehicles is the next frontier," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group's service, parts and customer-care brand. "For customers with competitive vehicles, Mopar's agreement with Magneti Marelli and Shell Lubricants effectively creates one-stop service shops at our Chrysler Group dealerships. And with the addition of 3,000 quality-tested parts, our dealership network will now have the ability to fully service customers who drive into our service lanes with competitive vehicles.

"In addition to customers with competitive vehicles, our dealers will now be able to supply independent repair facilities with a full line of premium parts," said Gorlier. "With this unique collaboration, this move further positions Mopar as a leader in customer care."

Beginning this month, Magneti Marelli will begin supplying Mopar and Chrysler Group dealerships with brakes, shocks, struts, oil filters, air filters, fuel filters and cabin filters for competitive makes. Other product lines will gradually phase into the Chrysler Group dealership network.

"Over the past few months, we have worked closely with Mopar on distribution synergies and our parts range proposition," said Dino Maggioni, CEO of Magneti Marelli Aftermarket. "We are ready to develop our presence in the U.S. aftermarket, bringing our product expertise and becoming the brand source for the company's all-makes parts."

In addition to Magneti Marelli, Mopar is also working with Shell Lubricants in order to further bolster the company's move to offer dedicated express-lane services in its dealerships. Shell Lubricants provides dealer-level program and marketing support and supplies the Mopar oil program with premium Mopar and Pennzoil® motor oils for Chrysler Group vehicles and competitive makes.

In addition to Pennzoil passenger-car motor oils, Mopar's oil program will feature Shell Rotella® heavy-duty engine oils. Both Pennzoil and Shell Rotella are the most preferred brands in the US in their respective categories and will be featured components of Mopar's Express Lane program.

"We are very pleased to be working with Chrysler Group, the Mopar brand and its dealers," said Lisa Davis, President, Shell Bulk Fuels and Lubricants, Americas. "Chrysler Group builds some of the finest vehicles in the US, delivering cutting-edge design and performance, and we are proud to provide their dealers with our leading Pennzoil® and Shell Rotella® motor oils for the vehicles they service."

Saturday Hours and Express Lane Service: Mopar Continues Push to Further Improve Customer Service and Convenience at Chrysler Group Dealerships

With a proud 74-year heritage of developing high-quality performance parts and accessories, Mopar is expanding the brand and building on that reputation by applying that same passion to create a high-performance customer experience.

The agreement with Magneti Marelli and Shell Lubricants is the latest example of how Chrysler Group, through its Mopar division, is aggressively moving to further improve customer service and convenience while growing its service business.

Currently 72 percent of Chrysler Group's 2,311 dealers now offer Saturday service hours. Mopar is planning to improve this number to 80 percent by the end of this year. Dealers who have made the move to Saturday service hours have increased their overall service business by 20 percent.

To support the move to Saturday-service hours, Mopar has extended its technical-support dealer call- center hours to 16 hours Monday through Friday (8 a.m. to midnight) and now Saturday as well (9 a.m. – 6 p.m.). Beginning in January of this year, Mopar started providing Saturday service at its parts distribution centers. For customers, Mopar established extended hours for the company's brand-specific customer-care telephone lines from just weekdays (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) to Saturdays as well (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern). In addition, the company announced today that it will now offer Sunday customer service from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, with the exception of national holidays.

Regarding Mopar Express Lane service, currently 600 dealers, or 26 percent of the Chrysler Group dealer network, now offer express service. Mopar is planning to improve this number to 80 percent by the end of 2014. Dealers who add Mopar Express Lane service to their dealerships average a 50-percent increase in their retail service business within the first six months and double their oil-change business in the first year.

"It's important to note that competitive vehicles currently make up 25 percent of Mopar Express Lane traffic," said Gorlier. "Our new relationship with Magneti Marelli and Shell Lubricants will allow us to further serve this growing market. Our dealerships will become full-line retail service and tire centers."

Mopar-first Features

Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• Vehicle-information smartphone apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to introduce new vehicle tracking system that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on set parameters
• 2011 Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
• 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 the Mopar Brand

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 and tested 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. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com

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 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 to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

About Magneti Marelli

Based in Italy (Corbetta, Milan), Magneti Marelli was established in 1919. The company is a subsidiary of Fiat Group and has a presence and reputation in racing, including Formula 1 and World Rally Championship (WRC). With 2010 revenues of $7 billion and approximately 33,000 employees, Magneti Marelli designs and produces advanced automotive systems and components. The company has 77 production facilities, 11 research and development centers, and 26 application centers in 18 countries. The group supplies leading automakers in Europe, North America, South America and the Far East. Its comprehensive product line includes electronic systems, lighting, powertrain, shock absorbers, plastic components and modules, suspension and exhaust systems, and aftermarket parts and services.

About Shell Lubricants

The term 'Shell Lubricants' refers to Pennzoil-Quaker State Company (doing business as SOPUS Products) a Shell Group company engaged in the lubricants business in the US. Shell's Lubricants companies lead the lubricants industry globally, supplying 13.4% of global lubricants volume.(a) The companies manufacture and blend products for use in consumer, heavy industrial and commercial transport applications. Shell's portfolio of top-quality brands includes Pennzoil®, Quaker State®, FormulaShell®, Shell TELLUS®, Shell RIMULA®, Shell ROTELLA® T, Shell SPIRAX® and Jiffy Lube®.

(a) Kline & Company, "Global Lubricants Industry 2009: Market Analysis and Assessment, 2009-2019."

SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC