DaimlerChrysler AG Reports Five Percent Increase in U.S. Sales for Passenger Vehicles

[SobeSVT]

Press Release Source: DaimlerChrysler AG

DaimlerChrysler AG Reports Five Percent Increase in U.S. Sales for Passenger Vehicles for January 2006
Wednesday February 1, 11:17 am ET
Chrysler Group Reports Sales of 155,465 Vehicles, a Five Percent Increase for January 2006
Mercedes-Benz USA Reports Sales of 12,469 Vehicles, a Three Percent Increase for January 2006

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX - News), the third largest U.S. auto maker, today reported total group sales of 167,934 passenger vehicles in the U.S. for January 2006, a 5 percent increase compared to January 2005. All sales figures in this release are on an unadjusted basis unless otherwise noted.

Chrysler Group, which consists of the Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge brands, posted sales of 155,465 vehicles in the U.S., an increase of 5 percent. Following global sales growth of 4.7 percent to 2.83 million units in 2005, Chrysler Group will launch 10 all-new vehicles in 2006, the most aggressive product launch in company history, while introducing some of the most fuel- efficient vehicles to date. Chrysler Group will take its best-selling Dodge brand to international markets in 2006, beginning with the all-new 2007 Dodge Caliber.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) posted sales of 12,469 units, up three percent compared to the same month last year. On the heels of recording twelve consecutive years of sales growth in 2005, MBUSA will introduce a new generation of its flagship model line, the 2007 S-Class, next month.

Detailed vehicle sales information for MBUSA and Chrysler Group will be announced later today in separate press releases issued by the groups. January 2006 and January 2005 both had 24 selling days.

for more click here

[Perian]

This is a lot better then it sounds -

Remember that Neon production has been down for weeks during the change to a new model. That's 3,000 units per WEEK out of the equasion.

[Buick61]

Wow, I really wasn't expecting Chrysler to be up for January. Didn't we have an article posted here halfway through last month that said that they were down thus far?

Amazing. Just think what'll happen when the new Jeeps, the new mid-size cars, and the Caliber come on line this year.

[Buick61]

The full release is out:

Chrysler Group Reports U.S. Sales for January 2006 Rise 5 Percent


All PRNewswire News
* Chrysler Brand Sales Increase 16 Percent


* Chrysler 300 Sales Continue Segment-Leading Sales Dominance; 20th Month in Excess of 10,000 Units Sold

* Chrysler PT Cruiser Zips to 45 Percent Sales Increase

* Jeep(R) Brand Sales Rise 8 Percent

* Jeep Wrangler Shows Sales Increase of 2 Percent

* Minivan Sales Leader Dodge Caravan Posts 18 Percent Sales Gain; Continues Its 22-Year Position as Minivan Sales Leader

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Positioned to launch a company record of 10 all-new products this year, Chrysler Group reported January 2006 U.S. sales increased 5 percent to 155,465 units. January 2005 sales were 148,111 units. All figures reported have the same number of selling days this month versus January one year ago.

"We strengthened our leadership position in key segments such as minivans and large cars with our sales in January," said Gary Dilts, Chrysler Group Senior Vice President - Sales. "Our car business is up 20 percent, and our LX products are up 62 percent. The Dodge Caliber begins production today and gives us a strong entry into the small car segment with an attractive price starting at $13,985. We are now a full-time car player."

Sales of the Chrysler 300 totaled 12,746 units, an increase of 26 percent over January 2005 sales of 10,112 units and continuing its leading position in the Luxury Large Car segment, eclipsing its closest competitor by a 2-to-1 margin. January marks the 20th month the Chrysler 300 has surpassed the 10,000 units sold mark since its world introduction in 2004.

The still-popular Chrysler PT Cruiser posted sales of 11,406 units, an increase of 45 percent compared to previous year sales of 7,887 units. The Chrysler PT Cruiser continues to attract new customers because of its versatility, value and fuel economy along with original, cutting-edge styling. Since its introduction in 2000, the highly popular Chrysler PT Cruiser has sold nearly 975,000 units worldwide.

Jeep(R) brand sales rose 8 percent to 29,773 units in part on the strength of the legendary Jeep Wrangler which posted sales of 3,830 units.

Chrysler Group minivan sales continue to be driven by the segment leader Dodge Caravan, which posted sales of 16,273 units, an increase of 18 percent over January 2005 sales of 13,797 units.

Dodge Charger sales continue to grow and rose 26 percent month over month to 8,023 units, compared to sales of 7,137 units in December 2005.



http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/pro...201&ID=5467781

[01cavalier]

Nice to see a gain, rather unexpected.

[johnny smallblock]

The real test will come with the new mid-sizers.

[paul3230]

Interesting..

[tgagneguam]

I'm curious to see if this will be the year that Toyota USA overtakes DCX in US sales. DCX is putting on a good poker face, but I think that some employees must be nervous. In terms of Chrysler Group sales (155,465 units) versus Toyota US (160,625 units), the Chrysler Group is off to a challenging start for 2006.

[asim]

Good news for DCX...

[syr74]

This isn't as "good" as it sounds. The minivans have huge rebates on the hood and sell a large number to fleets so a large increase here likely doesn't translate into the amount of money people might think. For that matter much the same can be said of the PT CRuiser as well, another vehicle which constitues a large portion of why sales are "up". In the near future we can expect the cloud car's replacement, but this is a segment which DCX treats more or less like an also ran at this point and I hardly expect a ground breaker here. The best news coming for DCX in the near future is the intro of the Caliber and the new Dodge Nitro suv. These will help the bottom line some but I don't think either is likely to produce really big numbers.

Sharp eyes will notice that sales of the nearly new Grand Cherokee are down, a ehicld traditionally very important to DCX and one for which Jeep has no real plans to shore up with a crossover of some sort. All in all I don't see anything here or in near future plans that leads me to believe that DCX's Chrysler group can count on taking substantially more money to the bank anytime soon.