FCA Reports Sharp Drop in U.S. Sales in November

November was a tough month for FCA US, which posted a 21.4% drop in daily light-vehicle sales from like-2015, according to WardsAuto data.

The decline was not unexpected and was spot-on with the 21.0% slide from year-ago WardsAuto had forecasted during the month.

FCA says retail sales performed better, down just 2% from year-ago on a volume basis. Fleet sales of 34,047 units, 21.2% of its total for the month, were off 42% from like-2015.

On a volume basis, FCA deliveries fell less sharply, to 14.6% on 159,536 units, thanks to two more sales days in the month compared with November 2015.

Even Jeep, which along with the Ram truck brand has been carrying the ball for the automaker most of 2016, saw demand weaken, with sales plunging 19.3% daily on total volume for the month of 67,285 vehicles. The Jeep Renegade posted strong results, up 20.0%, but severely slumping sales of the Cherokee (down 42.0%), Compass (-30.2%) and Patriot (-20.6%) dragged down the marque overall.

Chrysler-brand sales were cut nearly in half on a volume basis to 14,518. Sales of the new Pacifica minivan reached 8,753 for the month, which marked a 13% rise from October, but the total still lagged year-ago’s 12,537 Town & Country deliveries.

Dodge (down 27.0% daily) and Fiat (-21.4%) also pulled down FCA results. Most Dodge models suffered double-digit drops, except for the Charger (up 23.6%) and low-volume Viper (up 26.8%). Fiat enjoyed an 8.3% gain for its core 500 model and delivered 350 Spiders in November, but demand for its 500L and 500X models fell by half, triggering the overall decline for the brand.

Ram remained a bright spot, posting a 2.5% gain for the month, despite a 1.4% dip in in pickup sales. ProMaster Van volume more than doubled to drive the overall positive results for Ram.

[email protected] @DavidZoia