Chrysler Group announced that November sales for new vehicles were up more than 16% making it the best November for the U.S. automaker since 2007. The month was the 44th straight with sales gains.
Chrysler said the long-delayed SUV Cherokee, the new replacement for its Liberty had strong sales for the month selling 10,169 units. It was the first complete month the Cherokee has been in showrooms.
The Cherokee launch had been delayed while engineers at Chrysler continued their tune up of the new automatic transmission that boasts nine speeds to ensure it was working in all of its two-wheel and four-wheel drive SUVs.
Chrysler’s sales of its Fiat 500 fell dramatically, with the base model 41% lower and the new and larger 500L not able to attract sufficient buyers to compensate for lower sales of the 500.
Minivan sales were up and more than compensated for the slump in sales of the sedans 200 and 300. The brand was up over 12% for the month.
Jeep increased 30% on the strong sales of all models, with the Grand Cherokee selling 14,798, which was up 9% and remained its top seller.
Dodge increased by 4%, with its Dart compact gaining great momentum as sales were up over 44%. However, its Avenger plunged and the Challenger dipped slightly.
Ram truck was up 25% mainly on a jump of 22% by the Ram pickup. New sales of commercial vans not in last year’s lineup added to its sales figure as well.
Despite an array of new models, sales at Volkswagen fell 16% during November. However, the company said its sales for November were the second best November sales since 1973.
VW was limited to one bright spot, its Beetle, which was up over 43%, thanks to sales of its convertible model.
Jetta, the bestseller for the brand was down almost 13%, while the Passat the mid-size mainstream sedan fell 15.8%. A new redesigned Golf could help sales in 2014.
