[King T]

Chrysler to roll SRT brand under Dodge label

Auburn Hills — Chrysler Group LLC is rolling the SRT high performance brand, which the company has used in power-boosted vehicles across its product lineups,under the Dodge brand only.

Chrysler said Tuesday that Tim Kuniskis, who has been president and CEO of Dodge in April 2013, will headthe Dodge brand and SRT consolidation into it and will continue leading the company’s fleet operations. He took over that responsibility in November 2013.

SRT, or Street and Racing Technology,became its own brand under the Chrysler Group LLC umbrella in 2011. Before that SRT — around since the early 2000s — operated as a specialty division across the entire company.

“Dodge is the American performance brand,” Kuniskis said. “This is not a new strategy. This is a purification of the brand.”

Ralph Gilles, who has been president and CEO of SRT since it became a separate brand, will continue to work as senior vice president of product design and as president and CEO of Motorsports. Gilles previously also served as president and CEO of Dodge.

Chrysler said the moves are effective immediately.

“I want to thank Ralph for his dedication to the SRT brand,” Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC said in a statement. “Under Ralph’s leadership, the SRT brand expanded its vehicle lineup to include more highly customized models and received numerous automotive awards and distinctions.”

Kuniskis said the SRT name would be a “performance halo” under the Dodge brand as it undergoes a “purification strategy” for the brand. It listed the Viper as a Dodge under the product plan, saying it vows a number of Dodge SRT models.

It plans a mid-cycle refresh for the Viper in 2015 and this summer for the Challenger and Charger, with a Dart SRT version slated for 2016. A new Dodge Journey SRT version is slated for early 2017.

Analyst Jeff Schuster of LMC Automotive said the move makes sense with the redefinitions given of Chrysler Group brands. “SRT fits with Dodge,” he said.

The Chrysler 300 SRT will cease production, but the company will continue the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT model, the most popular SRT seller.

Schuster said there is some risk to moving SRT into Dodge, however, especially around the successful SRT Jeep model.

Chrysler in March said it was halting production of the SRT Viper in mid-April at its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant until June 23. Chrysler sold just 591 of its super cars last year.