It's been mostly about Ram at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles this year.

The automaker's truck brand has been a solid performer for the company in the United States in 2019, and that, along with some help from the Jeep Gladiator midsize truck, has gone a long way toward boosting FCA's fortunes.

Now, it appears FCA's leadership could be considering updates to its Ram Classic, the older version of the Ram 1500. The two versions have helped Ram beat the Chevy Silverado in U.S. sales to take the No. 2 spot behind the Ford F-150.

FCA CEO Mike Manley, during a conference call following FCA's second-quarter earnings release Wednesday, said the Classic would continue to be produced at the automaker's Warren Truck Assembly as long as it makes business sense.

Manley said the dynamic between the Classic and the new Ram 1500 appears to be working well in showrooms.

The Ram brand figured prominently in boosting the bottom line for the Italian-American automaker in its latest earnings report. The company touted record second-quarter results in North America, despite a drop in sales.

The company reported net profit of $884 million (793 million euro), up 14%, with adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $1.7 billion (1.53 billion euro), which is flat, and net revenues of $29.8 billion (26.7 billion euro), down 3%, from the same period in 2018.

Earnings per share of 56 cents (.50 euro) were up 14%.

Manley touted the company's strength in its most profitable market.

“We continue to deliver strong performance in North America and (Latin America). Robust demand for our new products, along with steps we've taken to exert discipline across all of our businesses, have generated the momentum to achieve our full-year 2019 guidance,” Manley said in the release.

For North America, the company had adjusted EBIT of $1.7 billion (1.6 billion euro), up from $1.4 billion in the same period in 2018. The company noted that shipments were down 12%, primarily due to dealer stock reductions (down 80,000 units from the first quarter), partially offset by increased Ram pickup truck volumes and production ramp-up of the all-new Jeep Gladiator.

In addition, U.S. dealers started to receive the redesigned Ram Heavy Duty pickups, adding to its updated truck portfolio.

Challenging areas

Europe and Asia remain "works in progress" and Maserati had a "challenging quarter," although during the conference call, Manley said the luxury brand is expected to return to profitability next year.

Regarding Europe, Manley said the company would need to become less reliant on Italy and improve sales in other major markets in the region.

The company saw its shipments drop worldwide to 1.2 million, down 11%.

The release of FCA's results follows Ford's second-quarter earnings by a week. Ford said its profits took a hit on $1.2 billion in special charges primarily related to its restructuring efforts in Europe although its earnings before interest and taxes were flat at $1.7 billion compared to the same period in 2018. GM is scheduled to release its earnings for the quarter on Thursday. The earnings reports come as the Detroit Three begin contract negotiations with the UAW, whose members are in no mood for concessions after strong profits during the four-year contract that expires in September.

Jon Gabrielsen, a market analyst and auto adviser, said FCA faces a similar situation as Ford and GM — strong North American performance and challenges elsewhere — but can also claim a key difference.

"The advantage that FCA has over its Detroit Three siblings is that unlike the other two, FCA has very substantially increased its market share over the current economic/auto cycle driven by its Jeep and Ram brands, while the other two have generally declined in share," Gabrielsen said. "In terms of current and future earnings in both boom times, and particularly the bust times coming, nothing is better than the rising market share of FCA in North America, and nothing is worse than the opposite. Indeed, FCA’s fitness through the next downturn comes down to the extent that gains in North America can offset the weaknesses in the rest of FCA’s world."

FCA’s U.S. market share for the first half of 2019 is 13%, up by almost an additional half since 2009.

Jeep's gains

Jeep, arguably FCA's strongest brand, has seen a sales slide this year, down 8% through June, but the brand has helped maintain the company's market share.

"Jeep has increased its U.S. SUV market share points by 45% over the last 10 years, since the last downturn trough. It continued to consolidate and maintain those gains in the second quarter of 2019 and the first half. In addition, Jeep continues to export over 40,000 Jeeps per quarter to Europe. Indeed, if it were not for Jeeps built in the USA and exported to Europe and sold there, FCA would have lost market share in Europe over the last decade, rather than being relatively flat due entirely to the addition of more and more Jeeps each year," Gabrielsen said.

More:Ford sees profit slide on restructuring, other costs; earnings, revenues flat

More:Prosecutors: Ex-UAW VP lived life of big shot, fat cat using FCA-supplied cash

More:Former UAW VP compared to captain of Titanic in plea for leniency

David Kudla, CEO and chief investment strategist for Mainstay Capital Management, pointed to a challenging environment for FCA in both the United States and Europe but noted that other automakers are feeling the heat as well.

"The macro environment is tough for automakers right now. The headwinds in this industry are persistent," Kudla said in a note ahead of the earnings release. "We are past peak auto and seeing demand contract in the U.S. All major auto companies have pivoted toward Auto 2.0 and the industry is in the midst of a tectonic shift. Until these companies can transform themselves, Wall Street will continue to question their future. Fiat Chrysler is no exception."

Part of the challenge will be addressing the cost of electrification, one of the key paths to meeting emissions requirements, especially in Europe. Manley indicated that FCA would be compliant with its own vehicles — rather than working with automakers such as Tesla to do so — by 2022.

FCA's plans include production of a plug-in Jeep Wrangler next year.

However, the "impact of electrification will be significant in terms of overall cost" to the company, said Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer.

Attempts to address the demands of expensive electrification and autonomous vehicle development have pushed automakers to consider tie-ups, such as the recent failed attempt to merge FCA with Renault.

Manley said FCA remains open to opportunities and the specifics of the Renault deal made sense. However, he said consolidation is not a necessity for FCA, which has a "robust business plan."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Read more Free Press coverage by signing up for our autos newsletter.