FCA US LLC today reported sales of 193,718 vehicles, a 10 percent increase compared with sales in August 2017 of 176,033. Overall, FCA US retail sales rose 17% to 164,727 vehicles. Fleet sales did account for 15% of total sales.
Sales were led by both the Jeep® and Ram brands. Ram posted two new records for the month.
“Our August results highlight how the all-new Ram light duty is coming into its own,” said Reid Bigland, Head of U.S. Sales. “Ram light-duty total sales rose 55% to 36,798 vehicles for the month.”
Jeep brand sales rose to 87,502 vehicles. Four of the brand’s five nameplates reported increases, but it was the Wrangler that set a new August record. Sales reached 20,168 vehicles eclipsing the previous record of 18,276 vehicles set in August 2015. It was also the sixth consecutive month Wrangler sales have surpassed the 20,000 mark.
The new 2019 Jeep Cherokee, took home the most sales for the month for the brand, with a total number of 21,978 units sold. That was up 85% over the same time period of last year. Jeep also still managed to see 23 left over 2017 Jeep Patriot models last month as well.
Ram brand sales rose 27% to 54,808 vehicles compared with the previous year. It was the best August since the Ram brand was first created in 2009. The previous record was in 2016 when sales reached 44,419 vehicles. Total sales for the Ram light-duty 1500 reached 36,798. It was the highest month of sales for the light duty ever since the Ram brand was launched. The previous record was in May 2018 when sales reached 33,060.
Ram ProMaster and ProMaster City sales were down for the month, over this same time last year. Ram is about to release updated models of both for the 2019 model year.
Alfa Romeo brand sales of 2,240 vehicles were up significantly compared with the same month a year ago. Stelvio led the brand with 1,271 vehicle sales. The Giulia sold 957 units for the month, which was a 4% increase over the same time period last year.
Chrysler brand total sales declined 3% to 12,219 vehicles compared with the same month a year ago. The Pacifica rose 20% to 9,167 vehicles. Chrysler 300 sales fell 26% with 3,013 units sold for the month. Still about 2,200 units short of it’s Dodge Charger sibling. Chrysler also managed to sell 39 new Chrysler 200 sedans for the August sales period as well.
Dodge brand total sales fell 18% to 35,575. Dodge Journey sales rose 28% to 7,243. While Grand Caravan sales were down for the month, it still happened to be the most sold Dodge vehicle with 13.039 units. Dodge did happen to sell 11 new 2015 Dodge Dart models during the month and 1 new 2014 Dodge Avenger as well.
Sales of Fiat declined 35% to 1,374 vehicles. The Fiat 500 had a 40% decrease in sales over the same period as last year, with 563 sales. It still made it the most sold Fiat vehicle for the month. Fiat is about to release details on the North American version of the new 2019 Fiat 500x soon, while the 124 Spider will get minor upgrades for the 2019 model year.
Source: FCA US
