December 2018: FCA US LLC

[William Maley]

FCA US Reports 2018 December and Full-Year Sales

• FCA US reports highest calendar year of retail sales in 17 years
• Jeep® brand sets full-year record as sales climb 17 percent
• Ram brand notches full-year record as sales climb 7 percent  
• Dodge Challenger reports full-year record

January 3, 2019 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC today reported December U.S. sales of 196,520 vehicles, a 14 percent increase compared with sales of 171,946 vehicles in December 2017.

Retail sales for the month rose slightly to 151,077 vehicles. Fleet sales totaled 45,443 vehicles and accounted for 23 percent of total sales during the month. 

The Jeep® Wrangler was the standout for the month and the year. Wrangler notched record December sales of 19,800 vehicles and full-year sales of 240,032. The results significantly exceeded the former full-year sales record of 202,266 set in 2015.   

For the year, U.S. retail sales were 1,760,488, marking the highest level since 2001 when sales reached 1,833,186 vehicles. Total U.S. sales rose 9 percent to 2,235,204 compared with 2,059,376 vehicles for 2017. Fleet sales accounted for 21 percent of the company’s overall sales in 2018.

“This year’s performance underscores the efforts we undertook to realign our production to give U.S. consumers more Jeep vehicles and Ram pickup trucks,” Head of U.S. Sales Reid Bigland said. “We see sales remaining solid in 2019 and we look forward to expanding our vehicle portfolio with the addition of the much anticipated Jeep Gladiator.”  

Jeep Brand
Jeep brand sales rose 10 percent to 80,449 vehicles in December. For the year, sales increased 17 percent to a record 973,227 vehicles, eclipsing the last record of 926,376 vehicles in 2016.

The Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Compass joined the Wrangler in setting new records for December and the year. Cherokee sales rose 7 percent to 20,800 vehicles. For the year, sales were 239,437 vehicles. Compass sales rose 46 percent to 12,745 in December. For the year, sales were 171,167, which beat the previous record of 94,601 set in 2016.      

Ram Brand
Ram brand sales rose 37 percent in December to 68,195 vehicles. For the year, sales hit a new record of 597,368 vehicles. The Ram 1500 – the Most Awarded Full-size Truck – drove the performance as total sales climbed 15 percent to 377,286 vehicles for a new record. Ram ProMaster and ProMaster City reported the best December ever. ProMaster sales rose 75 percent to 5,857 vehicles while ProMaster City sales increased 35 percent to 2,183 vehicles.         

Dodge Brand
Dodge brand December sales rose 17 percent to 32,528 vehicles. For the year, Challenger sales rose 3 percent to 66,716 which is a new record for the nameplate. The previous record was 66,377 in 2015.

Alfa Romeo Brand
Alfa Romeo brand December sales fell 4 percent to 1,946 vehicles. Alfa Romeo’s 2018 annual sales rose to a record 23,820, which was almost twice as much as the brand sold in 2017. Both Stelvio and Giulia finished the year notching more than 11,500 vehicle sales.  

Chrysler Brand
Chrysler brand December sales fell 28 percent to 12,425 vehicles. However, the Pacifica reported higher year-over-year results as vehicle sales totaled 118,322. Overall, the brand has seen some softening during the year following the continued wind-down of the Chrysler 200 and the Town & Country.   

FIAT Brand
Fiat December sales declined 44 percent to 977 vehicles in December. Fiat finished the year with 15,521 vehicle sales.

FCA US LLC Sales Summary December 2018
	Month Sales		Vol %	CYTD Sales		Vol %
Model	Curr Yr	Pr Yr	Change	Curr Yr	Pr Yr	Change
Compass	12,745	8,743	46%	171,167	83,253	106%
Patriot	9	240	-96%	621	40,735	-98%
Wrangler	19,800	13,700	45%	240,032	190,522	26%
Cherokee	20,800	19,358	7%	239,437	169,882	41%
Grand Cherokee	20,429	23,622	-14%	224,908	240,696	-7%
Renegade	6,666	7,542	-12%	97,062	103,434	-6%
JEEP BRAND	80,449	73,205	10%	973,227	828,522	17%
Ram P/U	60,155	44,907	34%	536,980	500,723	7%
Cargo Van	0	0	0%	0	0
ProMaster Van	5,857	3,352	75%	46,600	40,483	15%
ProMaster City	2,183	1,617	35%	13,788	15,584	-12%
RAM BRAND	68,195	49,876	37%	597,368	556,790	7%
200	6	332	-98%	1,043	18,457	-94%
300	3,483	5,726	-39%	46,593	51,237	-9%
Town & Country	0	6	-100%	6	577	-99%
Pacifica	8,936	11,144	-20%	118,322	118,274	0%
CHRYSLER BRAND	12,425	17,208	-28%	165,964	188,545	-12%
Dart	2	139	-99%	389	10,082	-96%
Avenger	0	2	-100%	4	14	-71%
Charger	7,293	6,830	7%	80,226	88,351	-9%
Challenger	4,156	4,508	-8%	66,716	64,537	3%
Viper	3	9	-67%	19	585	-97%
Journey	5,383	4,227	27%	94,096	89,470	5%
Caravan	9,694	6,623	46%	151,927	125,196	21%
Durango	5,997	5,547	8%	65,947	68,761	-4%
DODGE  BRAND	32,528	27,885	17%	459,324	446,996	3%
500	418	667	-37%	5,370	12,685	-58%
500L	39	111	-65%	1,413	1,664	-15%
500X	336	673	-50%	5,223	7,665	-32%
Spider	184	287	-36%	3,515	4,478	-22%
FIAT BRAND	977	1,738	-44%	15,521	26,492	-41%
Giulia	873	1,011	-14%	11,519	8,903	29%
Alfa 4C	10	26	-62%	238	407	-42%
Stelvio	1,063	997	7%	12,043	2,721	343%
ALFA ROMEO	1,946	2,034	-4%	23,820	12,031	98%
FCA US LLC	196,520	171,946	14%	2,235,204	2,059,376	9%

[Drew Dowdell]

RAM, Jeep, and Dodge the only ones up. People still buying lots of Chargers and Journeys... Nearly 100k Journeys moved last year.... I wonder why there isn't a replacement for that one yet?

[Robert Hall]

3 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

RAM, Jeep, and Dodge the only ones up. People still buying lots of Chargers and Journeys... Nearly 100k Journeys moved last year.... I wonder why there isn't a replacement for that one yet?

And over 150k Caravans...it's getting pretty old also.

[frogger]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

And over 150k Caravans...it's getting pretty old also.

Only 150k and not a CUV or luxury car? Better discontinue it.

 

[ocnblu]

I feel pretty good taking delivery of the very first new-design Compass from my workplace, seeing how sales for the model have sploded.  Sad to see FCA starve the Chrysler brand.  I adore the 300 and see no feasible replacement... unless it were a classy, RWD/AWD sedan... that's the only way to replace an icon.

That new Ram truck is kicking buttocks and taking names.  Sort of shocking for purists to see the Cherokee outsell the Grand Cherokee.  That pullback from weirdness paid off in beaucoup Benjamins for FCA.

What can be said about the Dodge Challenger?  Perpetual SCHWING...