Chrysler Group today reported U.S. sales of 171,606 units, a 5% increase compared with sales in March 2012 at 163,381 units. While it was the best sales month since 2007, the slower growth rate also means that the easy double-digit increases of the past couple of years heralded in press releases are over. Chrysler Group has now recovered from bankruptcy and the sharply lower sales rates of the Great Recession.
The question now is can the company grow at rates greater than the market going forward? Chrysler Group won’t be alone with this rate of sales increase problem in March, as will become apparent as the other companies report. Toyota, Number Three in U.S. sales, has posted results of 205,342, a 1% increase from last March. The overall market is projected to grow at 8%.
“With our 5% sales increase in March, Chrysler Group has now achieved year-over-year sales gains in every month for the past three years,” claimed Reid Bigland, Head of U.S. Sales, who does not hold a press call for reporters and analysts when results are released.
The Dodge, Ram Truck and Fiat brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in March compared with the same month last year. The Ram Truck brand’s 24% increase was the largest sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand in March and points to Chrysler’s ongoing strength in pickup trucks as the U.S. housing market slowly recovers.
However, Jeep, the other Group workhorse, stumbled with its 13% decline year-over-year. In a release the company pointed out that Jeep brand sales were up 27% month-over-month in March, but the brand’s y-o-y drop was due to Jeep Liberty production ending in August and the ongoing product launches of and launch preparations for the new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee (-10%), the Jeep Cherokee as Liberty’s replacement. and the Jeep Compass and Patriot. The Cherokee will be built at Chrysler Group’s Toledo Assembly Plant in Toledo, Ohio, and will arrive in dealer showrooms in the third quarter of this year. Nevertheless, the Jeep brand did post its best sales month so far this year in March.
Six Chrysler Group vehicles set all-time sales records in March. Sales of the Ram pickup truck were 33,831, its best sales ever as both the Light-Duty Ram and Heavy-Duty Ram pickups were substantially refreshed for the 2013 model year. Three Dodge models recorded their best sales ever too: the compact Dodge Dart at 8,091, the mid-size Avenger at 12,439 and Challenger pony car at 6,132. The Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan also recorded an all-time sales record with its 11% sales gain.
Chrysler Group finished the month with 66 days of inventory (419,084 units). U.S. industry sales figures for March are projected at an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate or SAAR of 15.6 million units.
