August Sales Analysis: Dodge and Ram help Chrysler Lead Industry in Growth

by Patrick Rall

The Chrysler Group posted a year over year gain of 30.6% for August of 2011, making them the strongest automaker group operating in the US by a comfortable margin over Nissan NA, who improved by just 19%.  The Chrysler Group was lead in sales by the Jeep brand with an improvement of 60% while the Chrysler brand had a strong month compared to August 2010, posting a gain of over 25%.  The Dodge brand was next in line with an increase of 18% while the Ram brand rounded out the brands with a jump of 7%.  The Fiat brand also had a strong month, posting sales of 3,106 units in August to help the overall growth of the Group.

The Dodge brand was lead in growth by the new Durango, with an
improvement of 16,219% over the same month last year.  In moving 5,222
new sport utility vehicles, the Durango was once again the big news for
the folks from the Dodge cars, vans and SUV lineup.  It should be noted
that last August, Dodge was still selling the bulky and infamously
unpopular old version of the Durango while this past month they were
benefitting from the improvements made in creating the 2011 Durango. 
The Avenger was next in line with a gain of 38% over last year while the
Dodge Journey came in third with an increase of 34% compared to last
August.  Dodge was lead in sales by the Grand Caravan lineup with 12,172
minivans sold while the Avenger was second (6,319 units sold) and the
Durango was third in sales with 5,222.

The Ram Truck brand saw the official end of production to the Ram Dakota
in August 2011, leaving the Ram pickup family being the only current
production model in the brand.  However, with Dakotas still selling off
of the lots, the mid-sized pickup saw 47% last month while the Ram
countered that with a gain of 12%.  Luckily with 21,243 units sold, the
12% increase by the Ram pickups was enough to help the truck-only brand
to post a 7% gain in August 2011.  The good news for the Ram Truck brand
was that the production of the Ram C/V, their new cargo van based on
the uber popular Dodge Caravan, began in Windsor and with capabilities
unsurpassed in the industry, this new Ram minivan should offer a great
new option for small businesses who need to haul up to 1,800lbs and tow
up to 3,600lbs.

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