Fiat Chrysler’s light vehicle sales for September 2018 topped those of Ford Motor Company – the first time FCA has outsold its Dearborn rivals since 2007.
FCA reported sales of 199,819 units in September, with Ford selling just over 3,000 fewer vehicles at 196,496 units.
Ford may be starting to feel the effects of its small and somewhat out-of-date lineup, with the automaker seeing a 3.5 percent dip in sales in Q3 year-over-year. The automaker recently axed its small cars and sedans in order to make way for more trucks, SUVs, crossovers and EVs, which may have caused sales to take a hit in September. It also now has the oldest, least up-to-date pickup truck of the American big three.
FCA’s Q3 sales, meanwhile, surged 10 percent year-over-year after strong performances from its Dodge, Ram and Jeep brands. Jeep sales were up 14%, Ram sales were up 9.2%, Dodge was up 41% and Alfa Romeo was up 29%. The Chrysler brand was down 6.8%, however, while Fiat’s struggles continued as sales slipped 46%. Well-performing nameplates for FCA included the Jeep Compass (up 46%), the Dodge Journey (up 48%) and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio (up 163%).
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While Ford’s sales took a hit last month due to complications from Hurrican Florence, it’s been struggling throughout 2018. According to The Detroit News, Ford’s sales were down 2.4% in the first nine months of 2018, while FCA’s jumped 6%. Analysts expect Ford will continue to struggle as it phases out affordable cars like the Fiesta and Focus and works on bringing more crossovers and EVs to market.
In a statement, Ford said it wasn’t concerned about the September sales results as there are often many factors that affect monthly sales figures.
“We don’t worry about being in a contest with (FCA),” Ford’s vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service,Mark LaNeve told The Detroit News. “There have been months when we beat General Motors and we didn’t pound our chests … It was a function of timing.”
[Source: The Detroit News]