FCA U.S. Sales Suffer Double-Digit Decline

FCA US new-vehicle sales took a double-digit dip in January, declining 11.2% from year-ago to 151,126 (24 selling days both periods), as all brands but Ram and Alfa Romeo suffered drops.

Some of that decline can be pinned on a reduction in fleet sales, which fell 31% to 42,868 units as FCA continues to try to reduce its reliance on the daily-rental market. However, that total left fleets on a par with year-ago in terms of share of FCA’s overall volume for the month, at 28%. Retail sales accounted for 72% of the mix, the automaker says.

The January slide was particularly precipitous for the Chrysler brand, which saw sales plunge 38.6% to 13,377 units. The results were driven by the outgoing 200 sedan and Town & Country minivan, which fell 60.3% and 98.8%, respectively. The new Pacifica was unable to completely compensate for the wind-down of Town & Country, as sales of 6,670 units were less than 60% of the outgoing model’s year-ago volume.

Jeep, which along with Ram carried the ball for FCA in the U.S. last year, saw deliveries decline 6.9% to 58,415 units in January. That drop also was due somewhat to outgoing models, in this case Compass (-49.5%) and Patriot (-51.9%). Cherokee demand also dipped (-25.2%), while Grand Cherokee (up 23.8%) and Renegade (up 51.9%) posted solid results.

Dodge sales slid 17.0% in the month with only Journey and the low-volume Viper in the black vs. year-ago. Fiat had a strong performance from the 500 model, with volume rising 24.2% to 1,218 and added 240 units of its Mazda-based Spider, but sharp drops were posted by the 500L and 500X.

Alfa sold 70 copies of its new Giulia sedan, offsetting a decline by its 4C model to push total volume up 58.8%.

Ram light-vehicle sales gained 5.8% in January to 38,045, according to WardsAuto data, as pickup deliveries rose 3.9% and ProMaster Van volume jumped 43.8%.

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