While most in the industry expected auto sales to decrease in April, Fiat Chrysler bucked the trend and exceeded expectations. The Auburn Hills-based automaker saw a 4.5 percent increase in sales in April, compared to the same time period a year ago.
Fiat Chrysler sold 184,149 cars last month. The company was buoyed by record month for its Jeep Brand. Jeep sales were up 20 percent compared to April 2017, as the company reported gains for the Wrangler, Cherokee, and Compass.
Dearborn-based Ford Motor Company saw a 4.7 percent drop in sales for the month of April.
Ford and Lincoln brands were both down for the month, posting losses of 4.3 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. The only bright spot for Ford was truck sales, which posted a nearly 1 percent gain for the F-Series and a 4.5 percent increase for the Ford Transit.
Ford cars saw a 15 percent decrease in April. This comes on the heels of Ford’s recent announcement that it will, for the most part, leave the car market to focus on its more profitable SUVs and trucks.
“The industry continues to operate at historically strong levels,” says Mark LaNeve, Ford’s vice president of U.S. marketing, sales, and service. “We are seeing this with our F-Series trucks, which have now posted 12 consecutive months of year-over-year gains. The market continues to strongly favor well-equipped SUVs and trucks and our F-Series and new Expedition and Lincoln Navigator are capitalizing on this generational shift.”
Detroit-based General Motors did not release sales for April, as the company said last month it will no longer be releasing monthly sales information. The company, instead, will release sales numbers on a quarterly basis.
