FCA moves up 1.7% in March, extends streak to 5 full years

DETROIT -- Fiat Chrysler rode strong demand for Jeeps and a sales push for the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart sedans to pull out a 1.7 percent sales gain in March.The increase means the automaker extended its streak of monthly sales increases to five full years.FCA US said today it posted 197,261 U.S. sales in March, which included a best-ever month of 71,584 Jeeps, topping the brand’s previous best month set in May 2014.Reid Bigland, FCA’s head of U.S. sales, told Automotive News last week that the streak “is a source of pride” for the automaker and its dealers and is “really proof positive that winning is habit forming.”The Jeep Cherokee and Patriot had their best-ever monthly sales, while the Wrangler and Compass set sales records for the month of March. The subcompact Jeep Renegade, which began arriving at dealerships late in the month, posted its first U.S. sales.Chrysler brand sales were up 15 percent solely on the strength of the Chrysler 200 sedan, which outsold every other vehicle in FCA’s lineup in March except the Ram pickup.Sales of the 200 offset a sharp decline in sales of the Chrysler Town & Country minivan. Fleet sales of FCA’s two passenger minivans have been curtailed through May while the automaker retools its minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario.Three vehicles that share a platform -- the Cherokee, 200 and Dart -- accounted for nearly one in four of FCA’s U.S. sales in March. That’s important because it is a key part of the automaker’s global platform-sharing strategy.In addition, in March dealers received bonus payments under FCA’s Volume Growth Program if they achieved sales goals for the 200 and Dart.Sales of Ram’s lineup of commercial vans helped the brand eke out a 1.2 percent gain in March, even as sales of the Ram pickup fell 2 percent. The decline for the pickup lineup is its first in 59 months and comes a year after the pickup outsold the Chevrolet Silverado in a month for the first time since 1999.Fiat sales fell 5.2 percent. Sales of both the 500 minicar and the 500L five-door hatchback dropped.Dodge sales declined 24 percent, despite best-ever sales of the Dart and the Dodge Journey. The lion’s share of the brand’s volume decline came from two vehicles: the Dodge Avenger, which ended production in January 2014, and the Grand Caravan minivan, which has limited fleet sales during the retooling of its plant.FCA said it ended the month with a 73-day supply of unsold inventory.

FCA moves up 1.7% in March, extends streak to 5 full years

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