FCA US sales jumped 9.9% in March on deliveries of 214,834 vehicles, the Italian-American automaker’s first daily-sales-rate increase in 18 months, Wards Intelligence data shows. The company’s first-quarter volume grew 1.0% on 511,286 sales.
Jeep sales continued to power the automaker, posting a 39.5% increase on a daily-sales basis, led by the Compass (+529.4%), the Cherokee (+57.1%) and the Wrangler (+64.3%). The off-road brand delivered 98,382 vehicles for its best month ever, bringing its first-quarter total to 228,105 deliveries, a 20.9% gain.
March had 28 sales days, one more than 2017.
The Ram truck brand saw a 15.7% dip in March as sales of the Ram pickup declined 13.3% on 40,078 deliveries and the ProMaster large van dropped 41.6%. Overall, the Ram brand was off 14.0% for the quarter on deliveries of 110,171 vehicles.
FCA noted retail sales of the light-duty Ram pickup rose 8% to 26,050. Production of the all-new light-duty Ram pickup is ramping up at FCA’s Sterling Heights, MI, assembly plant, overlapping with continued sales of the previous-generation truck.
Alfa Romeo’s torrid pace continued in March with sales skyrocketing 347.6%, albeit on significantly smaller volume of 2,576 deliveries for the month. Both the Giulia sports sedan and the Stelvio SUV recorded solid gains.
Chrysler was up 10.8% on 19,499 deliveries, bringing its quarterly sales to 46,233, down 1.8%. The Pacifica minivan sold well with 13,086 deliveries in March, a 35.1% increase, followed by the 300 large sedan with 6,223 sales, a 20.8% hike.
Dodge dropped 5.3% on 49,184 deliveries, with first-quarter sales declining 12.7% to 116,971. Fiat continued its freefall, plummeting 49.0% on 1,544 sales. First-quarter Fiat deliveries totaled 4,014, down 44.5%. The lone bright spot was the 500L, the slightly larger Fiat gaining 57.4% on 173 sales.
FCA sales began to stabilize in February when the automaker saw just a 1.3% decline. The company says total sales were its highest for March since 2006. FCA posted its best March retail sales in 17 years, outselling crosstown rival Ford at retail 162,304 to 158,996.
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