Chrysler March Sales Up 8%, Not Enough for Investors

Year over year, sales rose 8% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in March to 213,187 units, the company’s best March sales level in 10 years. The Jeep brand posted a sales gain of 15% year over year, its best March sales ever. The Jeep Compass posted a sales gain of 53%, the Cherokee posted a monthly sales gain of 1% and Grand Cherokee sales rose 10%. Four Jeep models, the Cherokee, Compass, Wrangler and Renegade, posted their best March sales month ever.

Analysts at Edmunds.com had projected March sales at 223,636 units, up 13.4% year over year and 22.3% compared with February 2016 sales. Kelley Blue Book analysts estimated that Chrysler’s average transaction price last month was $34,484, down 0.1% compared with the average price in February and up 3.3% year over year for the month.

The company’s Jeep brand sold 82,337 units in March. Jeep has now set a sales record for 30 consecutive months. The all-new Jeep Renegade sold 8,832 units in March and has moved a total of 21,951 units in the first quarter of 2016.

Ram pickup sales rose 8% in March to 44,874 units, after posting a sales gain of 23% year over year in February. Last year, Ram sold 41,595 pickups in March. Ram pickups posted their best March sales since 2004.
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Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand fell 13%, as sales of the Chrysler 200 tumbled 68% year over year in March to 6,176. Sales of the Chrysler 300 rose 21% to 6,474 units, the model’s best March sales level in four years. The all-new Pacifica minivan is expected to hit showroom floors this month.

The company’s Dodge brand sales rose 11% year over year in March, the best since March 2014. Sales of the Dodge Caravan rose 117% to 12,925 units in March.

Chrysler projected a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales in the United States from all manufacturers at 17.1 million units for 2016. The Edmunds SAAR estimate calls for unit sales of 17.2 million this year.

Chrysler ended the month with an 82-day supply of inventory, down from 88 days of supply at the end of February.

Chrysler’s shares traded down about 4.6% Friday morning, at $7.69 in a 52-week range of $5.78 to $11.13.