Shift to SUVs, Trucks Still Hitting FCA Sales

FCA US ended the year on a downward trend, posting a 7% swoon in daily light-vehicle sales in December from like-2015, following a double-digit decline in November, WardsAuto data shows.

The Italian-American automaker posted 190,437 deliveries for the month, bringing its total for the year to nearly 2.23 million, off 0.4%.

On a daily-sales basis, only Ram was in positive territory in December, climbing 13%, while Fiat suffered the largest drop at 52%. Chrysler (-29%), Dodge (-19%), Alfa Romeo (-4%) and Jeep (-3%) all declined during the month, which had one less sales day versus like-2015.

In annual volume, Ram and Jeep showed growth, up 11.5% and 6.1%, respectively, while Chrysler led the negative results with a 27% decline.

Overall, FCA light-truck deliveries climbed 9.3% for the year to 1.89 million, while car sales slid 33.5% to just over half a million deliveries, reflective of FCA’s decision to cut car production and eliminate several car nameplates.

Ram’s strong showing in December came from the Ram pickup (+18%) and ProMaster cargo van (+17%). Both ProMaster and ProMaster City nameplates were up 45% for the year, while the Ram pickup finished up 9%. The Ram brand posted 530,114 deliveries for the year.

Despite Jeep’s weak fourth quarter, FCA’s off-roading brand saw improvement in December from Renegade (+44%), Grand Cherokee (+17%), the outgoing Compass (+14%) and Wrangler (+6%). The Compass-sibling Patriot plummeted 34% and the Cherokee dropped 31%.

For the year, Renegade was up 75% with 106,606 deliveries, while Wrangler was off 5% with 191,774 sales. Grand Cherokee led Jeep sales with 212,273 deliveries, up 8.1% for the year.

Chrysler-brand sales continued to slip with monthly deliveries of 16,776 vehicles, down 29% on a daily-sales basis. The new Pacifica minivan topped 10,000 deliveries for the month, bringing its total for the year to 62,366, outpacing the outgoing Town & Country by about 3,000 units.

Dodge Challenger (+20%) and Journey (+29%) remain the bright spots for FCA’s performance brand, which recorded 506,858 deliveries in 2016.

Fiat saw double-digit declines across its portfolio in December and finished the year with 32,742 deliveries, down 24%, including 2,475 copies of the new Mazda MX-5-based Spider. Alfa Romeo delivered 36 of its just-introduced Giulia sedans for the year, with the overall brand recording 516 deliveries in 2016, down 27%.

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