FCA Outsold Ford Last Month for the First Time in Over a Decade
The Jeep and Ram brands helped boost the auto group’s numbers over its crosstown rival.
In September, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles saw a 15 percent increase in vehicle sales, besting the numbers of Ford for the first time since January 2007.
FCA sold a total of 199,819 vehicles compared to Ford's 197,404.
The auto group was helped in large part by its Jeep and Ram brands. Jeep's success was helped by Cherokee and Compass sales which were up 14 percent compared to September 2017. The brand as a whole is up 20 percent for the year. Ram trucks were up nine percent in September but sales have stayed flat overall in 2018.
“Our Ram and Jeep brands propelled both our retail and total sales to their highest level in 18 years,” Reid Bigland, FCA's head of U.S. sales, said in a statement to The Detroit News.
In a stark contrast to Ram and Jeep, however, the Chrysler and Fiat brands continue to struggle. Chrysler was down seven percent in September and is facing a 12 percent decline for the year, while Fiat saw its sales decrease 46 percent in September, equating to a 43 percent downfall for the year to date.
FCA is currently riding on the success of its trucks and SUVs, much like the rest of the automotive industry. Earlier in 2018, Ford announced that it would be ending the sales of all of its sedans in the U.S. by 2020 in favor of large vehicles. Sales of Ford's soon to be deceased four-door cars took a major downturn with sales dropping 25.7 percent last month.
Ford isn't too concerned about losing in sales during September. in a statement from Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, he stated, "We don’t worry about being in a contest with (FCA)."
