Jeep sales were roughly flat except for the Cherokee, which sold 14,827 units in July, up from 13,337 units in June. The Cherokee is brand new this year and accounts for most of the year-over-year unit sales gains in the Jeep division. American buyers prefer new designs every couple of years, and they usually reward carmakers who meet that demand.
That doesn’t always work, though, as Chrysler’s lack of success with its 200 model shows. The company released a new 2015 Chrysler 200 this year 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 and 8,159 in July. Year-over-year total sales of the new 200 are running 36% below the July 2013 sales.
The Ram truck brand posted a gain of 18%, down from a gain of 14% in June, with the Ram pickups selling 35,621 units in July. Adding in the cargo vans, Ram brand sales were up more than 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 July. Car sales slipped 1% and are down 20% year-to-date. Truck sales are up 30% year-to-date and total sales are up 13% through the first six months of 2014.
Chrysler projected a seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales from all manufacturers at 16.8 million units for 2014, down from last month’s projection of 17 million. The company ended the month with 72-days supply of inventory, up from 69 days of supply at the end of May.
Chrysler had been forecast to sell about 172,000 vehicles in July, up 22% year-over-year but down slightly from June sales and up to 11.7% market share. That did not quite materialize.
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