Chrysler January Sales Rise 7% as Jeep Sales Remain Strong

Year over year, sales rose 7% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in January to 155,037 units, the company’s best January sales level in nine years. The Jeep brand posted a sales gain of 15% year over year, its best January sales ever. The Jeep Compass posted a sales gain of 18%, the Patriot gained 9%, the Cherokee posted a monthly sales gain of 1% and Grand Cherokee sales rose 3%. Three Jeep models, the Cherokee, Compass and Patriot, posted their best January sales month ever.

Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) had projected January sales at 146,000 units. KBB analysts also reported that Chrysler’s average transaction price last month was $34,504, flat with the average price in December and up 4.5% year over year for the month.

The company’s Jeep brand sold 59,032 units in January. Jeep has now set a sales record for 28 consecutive months. The Jeep Compass sold 5,089 units, up 18% year over year.

Ram pickup sales rose 5% in January to 29,938 units, after posting a sales drop of 2% year over year in December. Last year, Ram sold 28,618 pickups in January. Ram pickups posted their best January sales ever this year.

Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand fell 22% as sales of the new Chrysler 200 tumbled 63% in January to 5,200. Sales of the Chrysler 300 rose 45% to 4,634 units in January, the model’s best January sales level in three years.
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The company’s Dodge brand sales rose 19% year over year in January, another three-year high. Sales of the Dodge Caravan rose 83% to 8,525 units in January.

Chrysler projected a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales in the United States from all manufacturers at 17.5 million units for 2016. The consensus SAAR estimate calls for unit sales of 17.5 million this year, up from 17.2 million in December.

Chrysler ended the month with a 103-day supply of inventory, up from 81 days of supply at the end of December.

Chrysler’s shares traded up about 1.4% in Tuesday’s premarket session to $7.11, after having closed at $7.01 on Monday. The current 52-week range is $6.60 to $11.24.