A CHANGE in manufacturing policy at Chrysler is set to turn Britain into the US company's biggest European market. Moves to revitalise the ailing carmaker will result in a full line-up of right hand drive specification models being made available in the UK from the end of 2004, Fleet NewsNet can reveal.

A decision to engineer all future products to cater for right hand drive demand forms part of the bold 'turnaround' plan launched by new chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche. 'This is something we've long been campaigning for and is a welcome development. As I understand the situation, we should be getting our first all-new products in time for the 2005 model year and I'm confident they will help make us the company's major outlet in Europe,' said Chrysler Jeep UK director Simon Elliott.

Speaking as the latest version of the user-chooser targeted Voyager MPV was being launched to the media in Spain, Elliott said the UK had been developed into Chrysler Europe's number two market despite being limited to only two thirds of the models built by the company in America.

'I am interpreting Professor Zetsche's decision as clearing the way for us to offer the next-generation versions of the Sebring convertible and the 300M cars, two first-rate products that will boost our efforts to win valuable extra business in the user-chooser sector. In the meantime, we're delighted with the higher safety, upgraded quality and much better value of the new Voyagers - these cars will also undoubtedly play a big part in our future plans,' he said.