Chrysler Reports Small Sales Increase in July, Jeep Sales Rise 5%

Year over year, sales rose 0.3% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in July to 180,727 units. The Jeep brand posted a sales gain of 5% year over year. The Jeep Renegade posted a sales gain of 57%, the Compass posted a monthly sales gain of 31% and Grand Cherokee sales rose 3%. The venerable Jeep Cherokee saw sales decline by 12% year over year in July.

Late last month, Fiat Chrysler announced a change to its method of reporting monthly sales and restated sales totals back to 2011. The July report is the first prepared under the changes.

Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) had projected June sales at 182,000 units, up 2.2% year over year. Edmunds.com analysts estimated that the company would sell 184,500 units last month. KBB also forecast an average selling price of $35,153 for July, up 3.8% year over year and up 0.7% month over month.

The company’s Jeep brand sold 79,246 units in July and has sold a seven-month total of 543,714, up 14% year over year. The all-new Jeep Renegade has sold 61,907 units for the year to date, up 211% compared with the same period last year.

Ram pickup sales increased 2% in July to 39,827 units, after posting a sales increase of 14% year over year in 2015. Last year, Ram sold 39,159 pickups in June.

Sales of the company’s Chrysler brand slipped 4% as sales of the Chrysler 200 fell 43% year over year in July to 5,474. Sales of the Chrysler 300 dropped 38% to 2,369 units. The all-new Pacifica minivan posted July sales of 7,911, up about 10% from the June total. April was the first month of the vehicle’s availability.

The company’s Dodge brand sales fell 10% year over year in July, while sales of the Dodge Caravan rose 28% to 10,055 units in the month.

Chrysler did not publish an estimate for the industry’s seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), nor did it publish its days of inventory on hand.

Chrysler’s shares traded down about 4.4% Tuesday morning, at $6.06 in a 52-week range of $5.45 to $10.93.