Ram Picks Up FCA in April

FCA US joins its Detroit Three brethren on the list of automakers that will cease publicly reporting monthly sales data. FCA will end monthly sales reports in July and instead will provide quarterly reports starting in October.

But for now, monthly reports continue with FCA US daily sales dipping 10% in April as every brand except Ram lost ground compared with prior-year, including Chrysler (-39%), Dodge (-27%) Fiat (-36%), Alfa Romeo (-18%) and Jeep (-11.0%), according to Wards Intelligence daily-sales data. The Ram brand posted a 20% increase during the month, which had 25 sales days, up one from year-ago.

The Italian-American automaker sold 171,672 light vehicles in the U.S. in April, boosting its year-to-date total to 667,384, off 3.9%. FCA’s car sales plummeted another 28%, while light trucks declined 8.0%.

Not all was doom and gloom, however, as data shows individual nameplates from four of the six FCA brands posted significant daily-sales gains in April, led by the Ram ProMaster large utility van (+29.7%). Other brand leaders included the Dodge Durango SUV (+20.3%), Ram pickup (+20.1%), Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV (+18%), Alfa Romeo 4C sports car (+17.8%), Alfa Romeo Stelvio premium SUV (+10.9%) and Jeep Compass CUV (+5.8%).

Although sales of the Jeep Wrangler dove nearly 28%, the all-new Wrangler-based Gladiator midsize pickup is off to the strong start, says FCA’s U.S Head of Sales Reid Bigland.

“We sold more than 300 Jeep Gladiators (in April), which are now starting to arrive in showrooms across the country,” Bigland says. “And we expect our Gladiator count to continue to rise, reflecting both ongoing demand and the fulfillment of the 4,190 orders taken in early April for the 2020 Gladiator Launch Edition.”

The Ram pickup continues to be the automaker’s volume leader, posting 47,878 deliveries in April and 165,191 year-to-date compared with year-ago totals of 38,262 and 138,743, respectively.

The Fiat brand sputtered again April with just 931 sales, down from 1,404 year-ago.