Cars and Drivers

Jeep, Ram Push Fiat Chrysler's August Sales Up 10%

Patrick Herbert / Wikimedia Commons

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) reported Tuesday that August sales increased by 10% year over year to 193,718 vehicles, compared with August 2017 sales of 176,033. The Jeep brand posted a sales increase of 20% year over year as sales of the new Cherokee rose 85% to nearly 22,000 units and Compass sales jumped 76% to 16,339 units.

The Ram brand of pickups and other light trucks had its best August sales ever, up 33% to 49,912 units.

The Jeep Renegade posted a sales drop of 1% and Grand Cherokee sales fell 15%. Wrangler sales rose 20% to 20,168 units.

Analysts at Cox Automotive had projected August sales at 195,000 units, a 10.8% year-over-year increase. Kelley Blue Book (KBB) estimated an average selling price of $38,027 for August, up 2.3% year over year and flat month over month.

Retail sales of FCA vehicles rose 17% year over year while fleet sales accounted for an overall 15% of August sales. The company’s Jeep brand sold a total of 87,502 units in August.

Last year, Ram sold 37,608 pickups in the month. The new 2018 Ram pickups began shipping to dealers in March.

Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand fell 3% as sales of the Pacifica minivan posted August sales of 9,167 units, up 20% for the month. Chrysler 200 sales fell 96% year over year in August to just 39 units. FCA continues to try to sell all dealer inventory on this discontinued model. Sales of the Chrysler 300 dropped 26% to 3,013 units.

The company’s Dodge brand sales were down 18% year over year in August. Dodge Caravan sales were down 24% at 13,039 units in the month. The company’s Journey compact SUV saw sales jump by 28% year over year to 7,243 units sold in August.

Alfa Romeo sales rose 96% in August, as sales of the new Stelvio pushed the total to 2,240 for the month. The namesake Fiat brand sold just 1,374 units in August, a 35% year-over-year decline.

FCA’s shares traded up about 0.8% Tuesday morning at $17.24, in a 52-week range of $15.33 to $24.95. The 12-month consensus price target on the stock is $25.91.

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