Cars and Drivers

Ram, Jeep Lead October Chrysler Sales to 13-Year High

2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel
courtesy of Chrysler Group
Sales rose 22% year-over-year at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in October to 170,480 units. That was the company’s best October sales level since 2001. The Chrysler, Jeep and Ram Truck brands all posted year-over-year gains for the month, with the Jeep brand posting a sales gain of 52% and its best October sales ever with 55,198 units sold.

The Ram pickup trucks posted a gain of 33% year-over-year with 39,834 units sold. That is the pickup’s best October sales since 2003. Adding in the cargo vans, Ram brand sales were up 36% year-over-year.

Ram pickups have a 54-month streak of year-over-year sales growth. Last month FCA said it will increase production at its Warren, Mich., plant by 100 vehicles per day, or 28,585 per year, to keep up with demand for the pickups.

Jeep sales were higher for the Wrangler models — up 16% to 13,665 units — and the Cherokee — up 2,614% to 15,715 units. The all-new Cherokee was first introduced in October 2013 and sold just 579 units that month. Year to date, sales of the new Cherokee total 143,848 and Wrangler’s year-to-date total is up 12% to 147,733 units.

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The company continues to tout sales of the all-new Chrysler 200, but only month-over-month sales are up — 40% — but year-over-year sales to date are down 22%. Overall the Chrysler brand is up 17% year-over-year and had its best October since 2007.

Like all U.S. carmakers, Chrysler sells more light trucks than it does cars and its light truck sales rose 28% year-over-year in October. Car sales rose 4% and are down 15% year-to-date in 2014. Truck sales are up 28% year-to-date and total sales are up 22% through the first nine months of 2014.

Chrysler projected a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales from all manufacturers at 16.9 million units for 2014, more than last month’s projection of 16.6 million. The company ended the month with 84 days supply of inventory, up sharply from 71 days of supply at the end of September.

Kelley Blue Book had forecast FCA sales at 167,000 units in October, up from 140,000 a year ago. The estimate from Edmunds.com came in at nearly 171,000, for a rise of 22% year-over-year.

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