Jeep Sales Down 3% in October, FCA Sales Tumble 13% Overall

Cars and Drivers

Published: November 1, 2017 11:00 am

Last Updated: November 1, 2017 11:01 am

Year over year, sales dropped 13% at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) in October to 153,373 units. The Jeep brand posted a sales drop of 3% year over year, as the Jeep Patriot showed a year-over-year sales decline of 87% and the Wrangler posted a sales drop of 7%. Grand Cherokee sales fell 4%, but Compass sales increased by 81%.

Analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) had projected October sales at 157,000 units, an 11.1% year-over-year decrease. KBB also estimated an average selling price of $38,004 for October, up 3.9% year over year and down 0.4% month over month.

FCA continues to implement a strategy of reducing sales to daily rental car companies. October fleet sales were down 43% year over year.

The company’s Jeep brand sold a total of 67,074 units in October. The Jeep Wrangler sold 13,391 units in the month while Grand Cherokee sales dipped to 17,215 units.

Ram pickup sales increased 1% in October to 44,201 units. Last year, Ram sold 43,891 pickups in the month.

Sales of the company’s Chrysler brand dropped 22%, as sales of the Chrysler 200 fell 82% year over year in October to 499. FCA continues to try to sell all dealer inventory on this discontinued model. Sales of the Chrysler 300 fell 4% to 2,917 units. The new Pacifica minivan posted October sales of 7,593 (down 2% year over year) and has sold nearly 94,000 units since the beginning of the year.

The company’s Dodge brand sales fell 41% year over year in October, as sales of the Dodge Caravan dropped 79% to 2,431 units in the month. The company’s Journey compact sport utility vehicle saw sales drop by 60% year over year to 4,719 units sold in October.

Retail sales dropped 4% year over year in October and represented 85% of all unit sales. Alfa Romeo sales rose to 5,139% in October, as sales of the new Giulia pushed the total to 1,205 for the month and 8,557 for the year to date.

Chrysler’s shares traded up 1.3% Friday morning, at $17.57 in a 52-week range of $6.71 to $18.10. The consensus price target on the stock is $20.23.