Chrysler sales up 6% for month by Bill Cawthon on

Chrysler just reported U.S. sales of 161,007 units, up 5.7% compared to December 2012 — the best December sales since 2007, and Chrysler’s 45th consecutive month of sales gains, still short of analyst expectations of an 8.4% improvement.

For the year, Chrysler Group sold just over 1.8 million cars and trucks, a 9.0% improvement over 2012. Ram posted a 16.7% gain based on a 10.6% jump in pickup sales and solid results from the new ProMaster commercial van.

In its second full month of sales, the new Cherokee posted sales of 15,038 units, surpassing sales of the Jeep Wrangler and helping Jeep to record its best December sales ever (along with Wrangler and Patriot each recording their best December sales ever.) Last month (its first full month of sales), the Cherokee surprised many by posting over 10,000 sales.

The Chrysler, Dodge, and Fiat brands missed their 2012 marks as passenger car sales fell 16.6%. Chrysler and Fiat also missed their full-year marks, but Dodge was up 13.6% in 2013. Chrysler 200 was down by over a third, 300 was down by nearly a third, Avenger sales were down by nearly a third, Challenger was down by 27% — but Dodge Charger sales rose by nearly a third. Dart also dropped by 11%.

Town & Country rose by 5% (500 sales), while Caravan fell by 21% (nearly 3,000 sales), but Caravan remained Chrysler’s better selling minivan, 11,226 to 9,737 in December. For the year, the two are roughly even, with the Dodge around two thousand sales ahead.

Full-year sales were up 9.0%, making 2013 the fourth consecutive year of group sales growth. Ram, up 22.2%, had the largest full-year sales gain of any Chrysler Group brand as Jeep set a global sales record. Chrysler Group realized sales growth in both its car and truck segments during the year. Chrysler Group car sales in the U.S. were up 10.6% percent in 2013, while truck sales were up 8.3% percent. The Jeep brand set a global sales record in 2013.

KBB.com estimates that transaction prices for Chrysler Group vehicles increased more than those for Ford and GM. TrueCar.com wrote that Chrysler spent less on incentives than its Detroit rivals and had the lowest ratio of incentives to transaction prices. This is all good news for Chrysler’s bottom line.

Chrysler Group finished December with a 79 days supply of inventory (508,615 units). United States sales are detailed in this chart:

Model Dec 2013 Dec 2012 Change All 2013 All 2012 Change Chrysler 200 5,652 9,080 -37.8% 122,480 125,476 -2.4% Chrysler 300 4,881 7,175 -32.0% 57,724 70,747 -18.4% Town & Country 9,737 9,258 5.2% 122,288 111,744 9.4% CHRYSLER BRAND 20,270 25,513 -20.6% 302,492 307,967 -1.8% Compass 3,534 3,131 12.9% 52,993 40,235 31.7% Patriot 6,158 4,566 34.9% 75,797 62,010 22.2% Wrangler 12,028 11,545 4.2% 155,502 141,669 9.8% Liberty 0 3,508 -100.0% 6,101 75,483 -91.9% Grand Cherokee 16,517 17,121 -3.5% 174,275 154,734 12.6% Cherokee 15,038 0 NEW 25,786 0 NEW JEEP BRAND 53,275 39,871 33.6% 490,454 474,131 3.4% Caliber 0 31 -100.0% 45 10,176 -99.6% Dart 5,449 6,105 -10.7% 83,388 25,304 229.5% Avenger 4,950 7,382 -32.9% 93,842 96,889 -3.1% Charger 10,145 7,867 29.0% 98,336 82,592 19.1% Challenger 2,872 3,942 -27.1% 51,462 43,119 19.3% Viper 55 0 NEW 591 20 NEW Journey 7,616 7,688 -0.9% 83,933 79,563 5.5% Caravan 11,226 14,160 -20.7% 124,019 141,468 -12.3% Nitro 0 0 Disc. 0 3,269 Disc. Durango 5,376 5,216 3.1% 60,727 42,589 42.6% DODGE BRAND 47,689 52,391 -9.0% 596,343 524,989 13.6% Dakota 0 0 Disc. 0 490 Disc. Ram Pickup 33,405 30,211 10.6% 355,673 293,363 21.2% Cargo Van 751 674 11.4% 8,900 7,075 25.8% ProMaster Van 1,872 0 NEW 3,270 0 NEW RAM BRAND 36,028 30,885 16.7% 367,843 300,928 22.2% Fiat 500 2,324 3,707 -37.3% 35,834 43,772 -18.1% Fiat 500L 1,421 0 NEW 7,402 0 NEW FIAT BRAND 3,745 3,707 1.0% 43,236 43,772 -1.2% GRAND TOTAL 161,007 152,367 5.7% 1,800,368 1,651,787 9.0% TOTAL CAR 37,749 45,289 -16.6% 551,104 498,095 10.6% TOTAL TRUCK 123,258 107,078 15.1% 1,249,264 1,153,692 8.3%

Bill Cawthon grew up in the auto industry in the 1950s. His Dad worked for Chrysler and Bill spent a number of Saturdays down on the plant floor at Dodge Main in Hamtramck. Bill is also the U.S. market correspondent for just-auto.com, a British auto industry publication, and a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association, which has named the Jeep Grand Cherokee the “SUV of Texas” several times and named the Ram 1500 as the “Truck of Texas” two years running.



Bill has owned five Plymouths (including the only 1962 “Texan”), one Dodge and one Chrysler and is still trying to figure out how to justify a Wrangler. He also has owned at least one of every 1:87 scale model of a Chrysler product. You can reach him directly at (206) 888-7324 or by using the form.