Year over year, sales rose 13% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in December to 217,527 units, the company’s best December sales level in 90 years.
The Jeep brand posted a sales gain of 42% year over year. The Jeep Compass posted a sales gain of 78%, the Patriot gained 19%, the Cherokee posted a monthly sales gain of 36% and Grand Cherokee sales rose 22%. Three Jeep models, the Cherokee, Compass and Renegade, posted their best sales month ever, and the Wrangler and Patriot had their best December ever.
Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) had projected December sales at 223,000. KBB analysts also reported that Chrysler’s average transaction price last month was $34,619, up just 0.2% compared with the average price in November and up 2.8% year over year.
The company’s Jeep brand sold 89,654 units in December. Jeep has now set a sales record for 27 consecutive months. The Jeep Compass sold 8,825 units, up 78% year over year.
Ram pickup sales fell 2% in December to 43,135 units, after posting a sales gain of 2% year over year in November. Last year, Ram sold 44,222 pickups in December. For the year, Ram pickup sales are up 3% to 451,116 units and total brand sales rose 5% to 493,807 units. Ram brands had their best December sales since 1999.
Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand fell 21% as sales of the new Chrysler 200 tumbled 47% year over year in December to 8,579. For the year, Chrysler 200 sales are up 52% and sales of Chrysler-branded vehicles were up 5%.
The company’s Dodge brand sales rose 6% year over year in December and dropped 10% for the year. Sales of the Dodge Caravan rose 13% to 12,670 units in December.
Chrysler projected a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales in the United States from all manufacturers at 18.3 million units for 2015, down from last month’s projection of 18.4 million. The consensus SAAR estimate calls for unit sales of 18.1 million this year.
Chrysler ended the month with an 81-day supply of inventory, down from 90 days of supply at the end of November.
The company’s shares dropped by about a third Monday as Fiat Chrysler completed its spin-off of its Ferrari business. The stock was down fractionally in mid-morning trading Tuesday, at $8.97, in a 52-week range is $7.43 to $11.24.
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