Chrysler Group Reports 17th Consecutive Month of Sales Increases

[Buick61]

Chrysler Group Reports 17th Consecutive Month of Sales Increases



* Jeep® brand sales lead Chrysler Group performance; Sales rise 16 percent year-over-year
* Sports Tourer segment sales perform well; Sales increase 6 percent over last year
* Truck segment sales volume improves; Dodge Ram pickup sales continue as volume leader for the Company
* 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 goes on sale today; First pickup to offer best-in-class HEMI® power with fuel-saving Multi-Displacement System (MDS)
* DaimlerChrysler Fund to provide matching funds by Chrysler Group dealers and employees to assist Hurricane Katrina relief efforts


Auburn Hills, Mich., Sep 1, 2005 -

Made possible by the strong foundation of desirable products and competitive value, Chrysler Group today reports its 17th consecutive monthly sales increase. Sales increased 1 percent adjusted (5 percent increase unadjusted) to 187,085 units sold during August 2005. All other sales are reported on an adjusted basis unless otherwise indicated.

"August sales results validate our approach of combining eye-catching, desirable products with a clear, competitive value message," said Gary Dilts, Chrysler Group, Senior Vice President - Sales. "The devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina had some impact on our sales during the final stretch of August. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families in that region as they begin the long process towards rebuilding their lives."

Chrysler Group saw sales strength in several key segments during August, including the Sports Tourer, SUV and Truck segments.

Sport Utility Vehicles
Chrysler Group's SUV segment sales were led by the historic Jeep® brand which posted sales of 40,659 units, an increase of 16 percent over August 2004 sales. Sales were fueled by gains in each of the three nameplates in the Jeep lineup.

Sales of Jeep Grand Cherokee surged 27 percent to 17,931 units compared to August 2004 sales of 13,563 units, while sales of the original SUV descendant, Jeep Wrangler, increased 11 percent to 7,079 units. Previous year sales of the Jeep Wranger totaled 6,123 units. Jeep Liberty posted sales of 15,649 units, an increase of 8 percent year-over-year compared to August 2004 when 13,874 units were sold.

The all-new Jeep Liberty Common Rail Diesel (CRD) posted year-to-date sales of 5,096 units, exceeding full-year sales projections of 5,000 units while delivering 25 percent improved fuel economy for their enthusiastic new owners.

The Jeep lineup of vehicles will expand by one row to accommodate the all-new Jeep Commander, the first Jeep with three rows of seats. Excitement for the Jeep Commander is high as orders for the vehicle exceed 40,000 units. Arriving at dealerships daily, the Jeep Commander is a fully capable Jeep while delivering the refinement expected by customers.

Trucks
Sales in the truck segment for Chrysler Group were led by the Dodge Ram pickup, which posted sales of 38,681 units, an increase of 1 percent year-over-year. Sales for August 2004 totaled 36,677 units. Overall sales for the truck segment increased to 49,427 units sold compared to last year's total of 47,317.

Beginning today, the new 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup is available for sale at Dodge dealerships nationwide. The 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 has been completely re-engineered, and is the first truck to include the availability of the Multi-Displacement System along with best-in-class HEMI® power, which provides up to 20 percent fuel economy improvement. Also included in the enhanced features are an all-new frame and suspension, all-new interior, bold exterior styling and a truckload of value.

Sports Tourer
The Sports Tourer segment was led by sales of the Chrysler Pacifica and the Chrysler PT Cruiser as the Sports Tourer segment saw sales increase 6 percent to 20,142 units compared to August 2004 sales of 18,312 for the segment.

The Chrysler Pacifica posted sales of 6,804 units, an increase of 14 percent over August 2004 sales of 5,747 units. The Chrysler PT Cruiser improved 12 percent to 9,812 units sold. Previous year sales of the PT Cruiser were 8,407 units.

"Economic indicators are showing stronger signs of improvement, but customers are still looking for a deal on cars and trucks," said Dilts. "We will continue to offer our Employee Pricing Plus program to customers as we aggressively work to sell down 2005 model year inventory. The Employee Pricing Plus program will end on October 3, 2005. This is absolutely the best deal you are going to see this year on Chrysler Group products"

Chrysler Group finished the month with 495,786 units of inventory, or a 69-day supply.

Full Story: http://cgmedia.daimlerchrysler.com/n...=1779&roomid=1

[DuSpinnst]

I think next month they won't be so lucky....

[AdmiralViscen]

What the hell is a 'sports tourer'?

Are 300 sales decreasing like they did last month?

[GM_Fanatic]

I wonder if this is fueled by people turning away from GM because of a lack of 05s under employee discount.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by AdmiralViscen

What the hell is a 'sports tourer'?

Are 300 sales decreasing like they did last month?

They sure are.

I think the lack of crazy incentives, the price increases, and the fact that they're 2006 models competing with deeply discounted 2005 competitors are chipping away at the car's popularity. That and the Charger has to be eating some sales.

[AdmiralViscen]

How well is the Charger doing? I don't have an account on that website, so I can't see the sales breakdowns.

Did the 300 recieve a price increase, or are you talking about gas prices?

Do you happen to know if the Ford FH outsold the 300 this month?

I'm surprised that Chrysler managed to outpace Ford, despite its flagship car faltering. Are people climbing into Sebrings and Stratuses?

[pkd87]

Chysler is on a Roll. I hope they can continue this trend.

[Motownr]

Originally Posted by Buick61

They sure are.

I think the lack of crazy incentives, the price increases, and the fact that they're 2006 models competing with deeply discounted 2005 competitors are chipping away at the car's popularity. That and the Charger has to be eating some sales.

Ditto.

DCX will probably come out with a sweetner in a month or so to give sales a pick-me-up. If you take a look at MSRPs, they've been kinda piggish on the pricing side of things. Add to that the loss of the warranty, and they really haven't helped themselves out too much. Hasn't seemed to hurt them too much given the reception of the Charger.

I do expect avg. transaction prices to fall, as I think there is a real upswing in demand for the base and mid-level cars. Part fuel, partly because the hitters have all had their fill of the C model or moved on to whatever is new.

Still a fabulous product, IMO.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by AdmiralViscen

How well is the Charger doing? I don't have an account on that website, so I can't see the sales breakdowns.

Did the 300 recieve a price increase, or are you talking about gas prices?

Do you happen to know if the Ford FH outsold the 300 this month?

I'm surprised that Chrysler managed to outpace Ford, despite its flagship car faltering. Are people climbing into Sebrings and Stratuses?

The Five Hundred outsold the 300 for a second month. Not surprising. But the 300 is still ahead for the year by about 20,000 units.

The 300 has received many price increases since its debut. Roughly $700 higher now for the base model and $1,300 for the 300C. The pricing was part of its original charm. They got greedy. So a $500 rebate doesn't even correct the bloat. And that rebate has since expired.

The Charger sold 5,222 units in its first full month. The Stratus was up 33%, the Sebring was down 30%.

Of course, the 300 is still outpacing original sales goals, so no harm yet.

[tgagneguam]

Originally Posted by AdmiralViscen

How well is the Charger doing? I don't have an account on that website, so I can't see the sales breakdowns.

Did the 300 recieve a price increase, or are you talking about gas prices?

Do you happen to know if the Ford FH outsold the 300 this month?

I'm surprised that Chrysler managed to outpace Ford, despite its flagship car faltering. Are people climbing into Sebrings and Stratuses?

The Auto Channel will tell you.

300 9,934 12,001 -20% -17% 94,101 65,709 44% 43%

Charger 5,222 0 0% 0% 16,912 0 0% 0%

Magnum 4,585 5,410 -19% -15% 39,795 17,866 124% 123%

(Apologies to Buick61 for my posting similar info as in his post... he beat me to it!).

[MN12Fan]

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

I think next month they won't be so lucky....

Are you implying that Dodge trucks don't last as long as the D-O-double gizzle!?

[redimpss5]

give the public a rear drive car...they will buy!

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by Buick61

The Five Hundred outsold the 300 for a second month. Not surprising. But the 300 is still ahead for the year by about 20,000 units.

The 300 has received many price increases since its debut. Roughly $700 higher now for the base model and $1,300 for the 300C. The pricing was part of its original charm. They got greedy. So a $500 rebate doesn't even correct the bloat. And that rebate has since expired.

They didn't get greedy. They added extra equipment which caused the price to increase a bit. For example, the '05 300 doesn't offer power passenger seat. Customers complained about that. For '06, it is now part of the equipment.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by MN12Fan

Are you implying that Dodge trucks don't last as long as the D-O-double gizzle!?

HA. No, I was thinking that they cannot sustain sales growth much longer.

[Wolven]

Charger by month. (June is based on YTD - July - August... may be wrong)

June 6,195
July 5,495
Aug 5,222

It's actually dropping but at those rates it could hit around 67,000 per year.