Fiat Sales Fall by Almost Half in May

Cars and Drivers

Published: June 2, 2018 8:15 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 10:52 pm

Fiat suffered a huge drop in sales in the United States last month, down by 46% to 1,441 vehicles. It is among the last, unfinished pieces of business for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s (NYSE: FCAU) departing CEO, Sergio Marchionne, who has run the company since 2004 and is famous for pulling Chrysler out of the tailspin that put it into bankruptcy.

Fiat sales for the January through May period were down 45% to 6,859. Every one of the cars in the model line had a double-digit drop in sales.

Fiat has suffered from a poor brand image in the United States and usually falls at or near the bottom of widely regarded car research from firms such as J.D. Power, Consumer Reports and the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Among Fiat Chrysler’s other brands, sales of Jeep soared. Dodge and Chrysler sales plunged, primarily because of the rotation of American demand from cars to light trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers.

Fiat Chrysler’s May results according to management:

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June 1, 2018 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – FCA US LLC today reported sales of 214,294 vehicles in May 2018, an 11 percent increase compared with sales of 193,040 vehicles in May 2017.

U.S. retail sales for the month rose 10 percent to 167,785, making it the highest month of retail sales since July 2005 when 219,045 vehicles were sold. It was also the best May since 2004. Retail sales accounted for 78 percent of total sales. Fleet sales accounted for 22 percent of total sales, a slight uptick from 21 percent for May 2017.