Jim Press, Chrysler president, told UK dealers recently that it was absolutely committed to supporting its dealers through the carmaker’s current troubles.

At a meeting with Press two weeks ago, Chrysler franchisees voiced concerns about the relevance of the Dodge brand in the UK as well as rationalising the group line-up to better fit with market share.

However, Press did “not want to have that discussion”, said one UK dealer.

Dealers’ main gripe at the meeting was the cost of the new Jeep Cherokee which, they say, is overpriced.

But Chrysler has gone part of the way by giving an allowance for taking an old Cherokee in part exchange for the new model. The dealer said: It’s not Chrysler’s fault. The 4x4 market has died. They are absolutely stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He added that while there are still people that want the vehicles, volumes were likely to go down from about 25,000 units to 15,000 units over the next two to three years.