American invasion quickens.

Byline: By STEVE HUGHES

IT could soon be a case of "all change" in the UK car market as importers who have traditionally struggled to break down British barriers are now making dramatic breakthroughs.

The charge is being led by the Americans following years of false starts and high-profile failures.

Iconic US brands including Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep are achieving record sales, which is expected to encourage others such as Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercury and a host of others to join the fray.

Chrysler achieved its best ever March sales result with more than 4,000 cars snapped up for the first time in the UK.

The Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot and Dodge Nitro were all big sellers, with a general increase of a fifth over the same period last year.

The Dodge Caliber was the top seller with 710 buyers followed by the Jeep Patriot with 594. The executive Chrysler 300C was in third place with 469 while the Dodge Nitro attracted 436 buyers.

In fifth place was the Grand Cherokee with sales of 422.

When Chrysler and Jeep originally launched in the UK in 1993 they sold just 3,914 vehicles in a full year.

With new diesel engines and European-style interiors in the pipeline the company is predicting that the momentum of UK sales increases will quicken even further from the current 12-fold increase.

It mirrors the fortunes of the Korean car makers in the UK with companies such as Kia and Hyundai now among the biggest sellers despite a shaky start. Fellow Korean car company SsangYong has just relaunched its range in the UK with price cuts of up to pounds 3,000 and expects sales of the Kyron, Rodius and Rexton to soar as a result.

Even the traditionally closed sector of the premium executive market is now under threat from the French and Japanese with Citroen hailing its new C5 model as equal to anything produced by BMW and Mercedes-Benz whilst Nissan is about to unleash an onslaught with its new Infiniti models with quality to match Lexus.

An Infiniti crossover vehicle will line up alongside a swish saloon and coupe as the Infiniti brand is rolled out across Europe and the company says that its main target will be the affluent UK market.

CAPTION(S):

BIG SELLER: The Dodge Nitro, was part of the American contingent which increased sales by a fifth over the same period last year.