Cars and Drivers

Jeep Sales Slide 17% as Fiat Chrysler April Sales Drop 7%

Paul Ausick

Published: May 2, 2017 10:55 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:25 pm

Year over year, sales dropped 7% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in April to 177,441 units. The Jeep brand posted a sales drop of 17% year over year, as the Jeep Compass showed a sales decline of 61% and the Patriot posted a sales drop of 53%. Grand Cherokee sales rose 6% while Renegade sales decreased by 9%.

Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) had projected April sales at 178,000 units, a 5.8% year-over-year decrease. KBB also estimated average selling price of $36,653 for April, up 3.3% year over year and down 0.5% month over month.

The company’s Jeep brand sold a total of 68,879 units in April. The all-new Jeep Renegade sold 8,619 units in March, while Grand Cherokee sales rose 6% to 18,877 units.

Ram pickup sales increased 8% in April to 43,321 units. Last year, Ram sold 40,264 pickups in April.

Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand dropped 3% as sales of the Chrysler 200 fell 54% in April to 2,857. FCA continues to try to sell all dealer inventory on this discontinued model. Sales of the Chrysler 300 fell 26% to 3,948 units. The all-new Pacifica minivan posted April sales of 10,427 and has sold more than 35,000 units since the beginning of the year.

The company’s Dodge brand sales fell 3% year over year in April, as sales of the Dodge Caravan dropped 20% to 9,817 units in the month. The company’s Journey compact sport utility vehicle saw sales rise by 72% year over year to 8,401 units sold.

Retail sales fell 3% year over year in April and represented 83% of all unit sales. Maserati sales rose 19% from 1,066 in April 2016 to 1,265.

Chrysler’s shares traded down about 5% Tuesday morning, at $10.84 in a 52-week range of $5.45 to $11.65. The consensus price target on the stock is $15.59.