Cars and Drivers
Ram US Sales Dive 14% in February, FCA Sales Down 1%
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) reported that February sales in the United States ticked down 1% year over year to 165,903 vehicles, compared with February 2017 sales of 168,326. The Jeep brand posted a sales increase of 12% year over year as sales of the all-new Compass soared 486% to more than 15,000 units.
The Jeep Patriot showed a year-over-year sales decline of 98%, and the Renegade posted a sales gain of 49%. Grand Cherokee sales fell 8% and Cherokee sales fell 10%. The Patriot badge is being retired and the Compass is now Jeep’s single entry in the compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) market.
Analysts at Cox Automotive had projected February sales at 155,000 units, a 7.9% year-over-year decrease. Kelley Blue Book estimated an average selling price of $37,105 for February, up 0.7% year over year and down 0.3% month over month.
FCA continues to implement a strategy of reducing sales to daily rental car companies. February fleet sales were down 3% year over year to account for 26% of the month’s sales, or about 43,130 units.
The company’s Jeep brand sold a total of 70,020 units in February. The Jeep Wrangler sold 15,936 units in the month while Grand Cherokee sales slipped to 17,468 units.
Ram pickup sales decreased 14% in February to 36,737 units. Last year, Ram sold 42,785 pickups in the month. The February decline came on top of a 16% drop in January sales. Ram is launching an all-new pickup later this year with production scheduled to begin by the end of this month.
Year over year, sales of the company’s Chrysler brand dropped 3%, as sales of the Chrysler 200 fell 90% to 219. FCA continues to try to sell all dealer inventory on this discontinued model. Sales of the Chrysler 300 sank 17% to 4,449 units. The new Pacifica minivan posted February sales of 11,482 units, up 27% for the month.
The company’s Dodge brand sales fell 8% year over year in February. Dodge Caravan sales rose 20% to 16,443 units in the month. The company’s Journey compact SUV saw sales drop by 52% year over year to 4,782 units sold.
Alfa Romeo sales rose 254% in February, as sales of the new Giulia pushed the total to 1,568 for the month. The namesake Fiat brand sold just 1,241 units, a 42% year-over-year decline.
FCA’s shares traded down about 2.5%Thursday morning, at $20.66 in a 52-week range of $9.60 to $24.95. The 12-month consensus price target on the stock is $31.64.
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