Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ US deliveries rose 1.1% in May, surprising analysts, who projected declines for all major automakers compared with strong results a year earlier, which had two more sales days. The maker of Jeep sport utility vehicles and Ram pickups was expected to post its first sales decline in more than six years.
Deliveries reached 204,452 cars and trucks, Fiat Chrysler said in a statement on Wednesday. The average estimate in a survey of analysts was for a 0.7% decline. Jeep sales, the Italian-American car maker’s profit engine, rose 14% from a year earlier, while minivan deliveries rose 84% to 22,213.
“Notwithstanding a challenging calendar, we managed to muscle our way to our strongest May sales in over 10 years,” Reid Bigland, head of US sales for FCA, said in the statement. The company has now reported 74 months of gains as buyers snapped up its light trucks. “Initial sales of our all-new Chrysler Pacifica minivan are brisk and we expect further sales growth from this vehicle over the next few months as dealer inventory continues to build.”
Fiat Chrysler was the first to report for a month in which analysts projected declines for all of the six largest carmakers. Even as auto sales gained in April and the US consumer continues to spend, there have been signs of wavering economic confidence, and the industry may struggle to maintain its record pace. As a kickoff into summer on the back of Memorial Day weekend promotions, May is a bellwether for gauging buyer appetite.
May deliveries “are set to fall year-over-year with two fewer selling days combined with retail demand that is holding steady, but not growing,” Tim Fleming, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book said in a statement before the monthly results. “While this year may not bring the growth the industry has become accustomed to, it is important to remember that sales are still at record levels.”
Nissan Motor Co will post a 1% drop, the second-smallest after Fiat Chrysler, analysts estimated. General Motors Co is expected to report a 13% decline, the widest among the largest automakers, as it pulls back from fleet sales and focuses on more profitable purchases by individual customers.
Analysts projected a 17.4mn annualised selling rate for the month, adjusted for seasonal trends. That pace would be a 300,000-vehicle decrease from May 2015. Fiat Chrysler declined to share its projected rate, Ralph Kisiel, a spokesman, said by e-mail, calling it an “internal projection.” The company ended the month with 602,064 vehicles in inventory for a 71-day supply, he said.