Cars and Drivers
Jeep Sales Rise 28% to Drive Chrysler's Sales 9% Higher
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The month of June had two fewer sales days this year than did June 2013, and June 2014 had just four Saturdays compared with five in May, so month-over-month comparisons look weaker than they are. Saturdays are particularly good selling days for car dealers. Chrysler’s May sales totaled 194,421 units, about 23,000 more than June unit sales.
Jeep sales were roughly flat except for the Cherokee, which sold 13,337 units in June. The Cherokee is brand new this year and accounts for all the year-over-year unit sales gains in the Jeep division. The Grand Cherokee actually sold about 1,500 fewer units in June, many of which probably went to the newly designed Cherokee. American buyers prefer new designs every couple of years and they reward carmakers that can meet that demand.
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That doesn’t always work, though, as Chrysler’s lack of success with its 200 model shows. The company released a new 2015 version of the mid-size sedan, which reached dealers beginning in May. The company sold just over 3,000 in May, rising to 7,345 in June. Unfortunately for Chrysler, that total is 41% below the 200’s sales in June of 2013. Chrysler believes that volumes will improve as more of the cars become available in the coming months.
The Ram truck brand posted a gain of 14%, down from gains of 17% in both April and May, with the Ram pickups selling 33,149 units in June. Adding in the cargo vans, Ram brand sales were up nearly 5,000 units year-over-year.
Like all U.S. carmakers, Chrysler sells more light trucks than it does cars, and its light truck sales rose 22% year-over-year in June. Car sales slipped 19% and are down 22% year-to-date in 2014. Truck sales are up 30% year-to-date and total sales are up 12% through the first six months of 2014.
Chrysler projected a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales from all manufacturers at 17 million units for 2014, up from last month’s projection of 16.9 million. The company ended the month with 72 days supply of inventory, up from 69 days of supply at the end of May.
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