FCA US sales for the second quarter of 2023 were interesting, with Chrysler and Dodge both having major sales gains, Jeep dropping a little, and Ram rising a little. Chrysler came in with nearly as many sales as Dodge, which is unusual. Fiat and Alfa Romeo both plummeted, though the first Tonales reached showrooms last month.
First, Fiat: with just one car for sale, the 500X, Fiat sales dropped by 42%, landing at 144—over the entire United States for three months. Year to date, Fiat sales fell by 52%. Alfa Romeo, which is being rejuvenated by a second-generation Giulia soon and a new Tonale now, fell by 25%, with 117 Tonale sales and both Giulia and Stelvio plummeting. Year to date, Alfa Romeo had 4,701 sales.
At Chrysler, the Pacifica dominated, enjoying a 40% sales gain to 44,935. Historically, that is a terrible figure for the company’s only minivan; but it is well above where it was last year. The 300 came in, in its final year, with just 4,208 sales, a 13% drop. Overall Chrysler was up by 33%.
At Dodge, the Charger enjoyed a 7% gain to 24,604 for the quarter; the Challenger fell by 11%, though, to 12,904. The new Hornet racked up 2,597 sales, by all accounts constrained by availability rather than by demand. The second best selling Dodge was the Durango, now the only vehicle on its platform, with 19,642 sales.
Next up in reverse order of sales was Ram, where pickup sales held almost exactly to the first quarter of 2022, at 117,699 sold. The ProMaster enjoyed a large gain in sales—27%—with Amazon continuing to buy despite having an increasing number of electric Rivian vans joining the fleet. The company sold 20,200 ProMaster vans and 4,114 ProMaster Citys.
Finally, at Jeep, the big gainer was the Compass (up 28%) followed by the Grand Cherokee (up 19%); but all other models fell. The Grand Cherokee was the sales leader by a huge margin, at 70,454 over the quarter and 124,596 for the first half; the Compass, in contrast, only had 28,083 sales in the quarter.
The second best seller at Jeep was the Wrangler, at 46,671, with sales falling by 13%. Anecdotal reports suggest there is a combination of high pricing, waiting for 2024s, and competition from the Bronco to blame there. The Gladiator dropped by 34%, again with anecdotal reports suggesting that high prices and future competition from a new Tacoma are to blame. The rest of the Jeeps were minor in terms of sales, but the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer together turned in an impressive 11,299 sales, given their prices. Jeep sold 8,075 Wagoneers and 3,224 Grand Wagoneers over the quarter. Both fell by double-digit percentages from Q2 2022, but are likely still at profitable levels.
According to the press release, Wrangler 4xes had their best quarter to date, and the best selling PHEVs in America remain the Wrangler followed by the Grand Cherokee, with the Pacifica slotting in at #4. The ProMaster had its best ever quarter in both total and retail sales. 36% of Wrangler sales in the quarter were 4xe units, while 15% of Grand Cherokees were 4xes; and 19% of Pacificas were hybrids.
The Alfa Romeo Tonale has just started shipping; some expect it to be the best selling Alfa Romeo. Likewise, the Hornet is off to a late start, and seems to be popular so far, based on anecdotal reports.
