Chrysler Revenue Rises 7% as It Stuggles with Larger Rivals

The company announced that its preliminary second-quarter 2013 results included:

[N]et income of $507 million, an increase of 16 percent from $436 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The second quarter marks the Company’s eighth consecutive quarter of positive net income.

Net revenue was $18.0 billion for the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 7 percent from $16.8 billion for the same period last year, primarily driven by an increase in vehicle shipments, including the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram pickup trucks. Net revenue totaled $33.4 billion for the first half of 2013.

For all the progress Chrysler has made since it left Chapter 11, it is still a local American company, which means it is hostage to the U.S. economy. For the time being, that is an enviable position. Chrysler sold 643,000 cars and light trucks in the second quarter, up 10% from the same quarter a year ago. But Chrysler has no significant presence in some of the world’s best car markets — primarily China.

And Chrysler’s share of the U.S. market was only 11.6% through the first six months of 2013, up from 11.5% last year. That leaves it well behind General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), with its market share of 18.1%, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), at 16.5%, and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), at 14.2%.

Unfortunately, Chrysler has a very modest line up of cars when Jeep is factored out. Its sales are built almost entirely around its 200, 300 and Town & Country products. These are not enough for it to grapple with manufacturers that have two or three times that many models.