Cars and Drivers
Fiat Chrysler February Sales Drop 10% as Jeep Continues Slide
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Year over year, sales dropped 10% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in February to 168,326 units. The Jeep brand posted a sales drop of 15%, as the Jeep Compass showed a year-over-year sales decline of 69% and the Patriot posted a sales drop of 51%. Grand Cherokee sales rose 11% and Renegade sales also increased by 11%.
Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) had projected February sales at 173,000 units, a 7.6% year-over-year decrease. KBB also estimated average selling price of $35,344 for February, up 2.1% year over year and down 1.3% month over month in average selling price.
The company’s Jeep brand sold a total of 62,345 units in February. The all-new Jeep Renegade sold 7,915 units in February.
Ram pickup sales increased 5% in February to 39,046 units. Last year, Ram sold 37,087 pickups in February.
Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand dropped 28% as sales of the Chrysler 200 fell 65% in February to 2,194. FCA is doing its best to sell all dealer inventory on this discontinued model. Sales of the Chrysler 300 rose 2% to 5,386 units. The all-new Pacifica minivan posted February sales of 9,042 and has sold more than 15,000 since the beginning of the year.
The company’s Dodge brand sales fell 7% year over year in February, while sales of the Dodge Caravan dropped 2% to 13,682 units in the month. The company’s Journey compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) saw sales rise 55% year over year to 9,906 units sold in February.
Passenger car and minivan sales were down 20% year over year, utility vehicle sales were down 10% and total truck and light commercial vehicle sales rose 4%. Maserati sales jumped 49% from 728 in February 2016 to 1,087.
Adding to the company’s woes, FCA said Tuesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state attorneys general are now investigating the company’s diesel-powered vehicles. The investigations follow allegations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the company included software in its diesel-powered Jeep and Ram models that allowed the vehicles to exceed pollution limits.
Fiat Chrysler’s shares traded up fractionally late Wednesday morning, at $11.04 in a 52-week range of $5.45 to $11.63. The consensus price target on the stock is $15.21.
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