Anthony Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FCA US reaches highest September of total and retail sales in 18 years Ram and Jeep® brands each post record September total sales Ram brand posts best month of total sales ever Alfa Romeo brand sales increase 29 percent over last year FCA US LLC today reported U.S. sales of 199,819 vehicles, a 15 percent increase compared with sales in September 2017 of 174,266 vehicles. FCA US total sales and retail sales both posted their best performance in September in 18 years. The September total sales record was in 2000 when sales reached 219,966 vehicles. Retail sales of 149,713 vehicles were the highest level since 2000 when sales hit 189,794. Sales were driven by Ram pickup trucks, Jeep® Cherokee and Jeep Compass. Fleet accounted for 25 percent of total sales. "Our Ram and Jeep brands propelled both our retail and total sales to their highest levels in 18 years," said Reid Bigland, Head of U.S. Sales. Jeep BrandJeep brand sales rose 14 percent to 83,764 vehicles. It was the ninth consecutive time Jeep has set a monthly record for total sales. It was the sixth time this year Jeep brand sales have surpassed 80,000 vehicles. The Cherokee and Compass led the way with sales rising 87 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Ram BrandRam brand sales rose 9 percent to 56,447 vehicles compared with the previous year. It was the best month of sales since August 2018 when sales reached 54,808 vehicles. It was the highest September sales for the brand since it was launched in 2009. The light-duty Ram 1500 was the driver as retail sales rose 11 percent to 30,498 and total sales rose 18 percent to 36,658 vehicles. It was the best September of light-duty retail and total sales ever. Alfa Romeo BrandAlfa Romeo brand sales rose 29 percent to 1,639 vehicles. Stelvio accounted for the majority of those sales with 864 vehicles sold. Dodge BrandDodge brand sales jumped 41 percent to 42,101. The brand sales were driven by the Dodge Journey, which rose 48 percent, the Dodge Challenger, which rose 14 percent, and the Caravan, which saw its sales climb to 13,829 vehicles for the month. Chrysler BrandChrysler brand sales declined 7 percent to 14,683 vehicles compared with the same month a year ago. FIAT BrandSales of Fiat declined 46 percent to 1,185 vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Wowsers!! Some big increases for FCA...Jeep is hitting it's stride as the market moves to more "Jeep-esque" vehicles.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Wowsers!! Some big increases for FCA...Jeep is hitting it's stride as the market moves to more "Jeep-esque" vehicles.... Or are they just buying market share? 50% increase on what is essentially a 5 yr old model with a mild facelift screams fire sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Or are they just buying market share? 50% increase on what is essentially a 5 yr old model with a mild facelift screams fire sale. . Well, there's always that..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) Cherokee overtook the Escape for the month, although far off for the year. What's a little interesting is that Compass more than doubles the sales of Renegade. The Bronco Mini (Maverick) is targeting that Renegade style, maybe Ford should have been targeting Compass. The Compass is EVERYWHERE in Michigan. It's BY FAR the best looking utility in its class, but it's also a product engineered for cost and isn't well liked by critics. Not sure I want Ford to take that route even if it means more sales. Either way I think Ford is having a really hard time figuring out this specific area of the market. Edited October 3, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Dude, I could take a massive dump, slap a Jeep badge on it and it would sell. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Or are they just buying market share? 50% increase on what is essentially a 5 yr old model with a mild facelift screams fire sale. I've been saying that about Journey for years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itguy09 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Dude, I could take a massive dump, slap a Jeep badge on it and it would sell. That's pretty much Jeep's entire product line there. They have excellent marketing though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Dude, I could take a massive dump, slap a Jeep badge on it and it would sell. Never underestimate lemmings trying to keep up with The Joneses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Never underestimate lemmings trying to keep up with The Joneses I'm going to have to eat a lot..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Never underestimate lemmings trying to keep up with The Joneses I don't understand the disdain for Jeep. Wrangler is in a class by itself when it comes to mass production off road performance as well as the ability to customize it. Grand Cherokee was/is arguably best in class in that category as well for utilities. The Cherokee and other smaller utes are mostly selling on price and styling, not because buyers think they can off road them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) Jeep was a niche brand for a long time, this is all a fairly recent boom thanks to an accumulation of well liked modern products that don't suck. It's a strong brand however and its foundation serves itself extremely well when it comes to developing and marketing the right product in an SUV world. Jeep is the original SUV, in-fact "Jeep" is interchangeable with SUV in most part of the world. Ford has some of that foundation as well. Obviously Ford doesn't have decades of brand consistency on its side since Bronco has been gone for decades, but it has never been forgotten. Jeep does have two American icons that translate well globally, the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. Ford has Mustang, Chevy has Corvette. Maybe Ford can add Bronco to that list this time, or even Explorer. Explorer is going to be Ford's Jeep Grand Cherokee in some respects, a vehicle that stands apart from the norms in the market and becomes harder to cross shop with others. You know you either want a Grand Cherokee, Explorer or one of the other random utilities you only know about because they appear on a list. That's what encourages me about Ford right now, they know they don't want to be a commodity car maker, they have to make icons that only they can make and sell. Edited October 3, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 Or are they just buying market share? 50% increase on what is essentially a 5 yr old model with a mild facelift screams fire sale. I wouldn't necessarily call it a mild facelift. That new front end (and to a lesser extent, the backend) basically makes it seem like a totally new vehicle. Sure, it is a bit derivative of the Compass and Grand Cherokee styling, but the Cherokee now has the same look as the other Jeeps that actually sell because they are handsome vehicles..... instead of some LSD-induced styling that really did seem to sell only because of the badge on its hood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Or are they just buying market share? 50% increase on what is essentially a 5 yr old model with a mild facelift screams fire sale. No fire sale sir. Current and past month sales incentives for Jeep Cherokee have been comparable to those for Ford Escape, Chevy Equinox, and GMC Acadia. As Anthony said, 2019 Cherokee is much more than "mild facelift". Engines, transmissions, chassis, and interior materials have all been refined or upgraded substantially. Plus the revised exterior styling is a lot less polarizing. A lot of potential customers just couldn't get used to the 2014-2018 Cherokee styling with the weird arrangement of headlamps and DRL. Less quirky Cherokee = more sales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Or are they just buying market share? 50% increase on what is essentially a 5 yr old model with a mild facelift screams fire sale. Its not a mild facelift. I had one for a week and it was a very competent and well appointed vehicle. If I were buying a vehicle in that segment I would purchase it over an Escape. Think of it like the 2010 Fusion. It may be a heavy refresh, but it comes off as a brand new vehicle for consumers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I still don't think it's enough of a change to justify a 50% increase in sales all by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Its not a mild facelift. I had one for a week and it was a very competent and well appointed vehicle. If I were buying a vehicle in that segment I would purchase it over an Escape. Think of it like the 2010 Fusion. It may be a heavy refresh, but it comes off as a brand new vehicle for consumers. Unlike the '17 Fusion haha. I still don't think it's enough of a change to justify a 50% increase in sales all by itself. Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assimilator Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 (edited) I would be skeptical of FCA sales practices, major variations in sales don't happen naturally. Edited October 8, 2018 by Assimilator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I would be skeptical of FCA sales practices, major variations in sales don't happen naturally. Plus they've been busted with publishing shady results in the recent past too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 3 words..... sub prime financing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 (edited) 3 words..... sub prime financing This. FCA just out GMed GM. Anyone with more than two teeth and a heartbeat were signed up last month. Edited October 9, 2018 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 3 words..... sub prime financing 23 words from Experian Automotive. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/experian-finds-consumers-are-doing-a-better-job-of-making-on-time-car-payments-300704598.html "Additionally, compared with last year, lenders appear to be more conservative as market share for subprime and deep-subprime automotive loans continues to fall." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 23 words from Experian Automotive. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/experian-finds-consumers-are-doing-a-better-job-of-making-on-time-car-payments-300704598.html "Additionally, compared with last year, lenders appear to be more conservative as market share for subprime and deep-subprime automotive loans continues to fall." The next few sentences after that quote paint a slightly different picture: Deep subprime hit an all-time low of 3.54 percent, compared with 3.98 percent in Q2 2017. Overall, subprime and deep subprime fell to less than 19 percent of the loan market. As a result, average credit scores for new and used vehicle financing continue to improve, reaching 715 and 655, respectively. Subprime and deep Subprime lending numbers are falling because there are more prime lending being done, the risk is still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 If it's 19% of the total loan market and it's only being done in volume by GM and FCA then it wouldn't surprise me if FCA is at 30% - 40%. This still represents significant risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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