What happens next Where's my refund? Best CD rates this month Shop and save 🤑
CARS
Detroit, MI

Detroit sales strong: Chrysler up 11%, Ford rises 14%, GM zips 16%

James R. Healey and Fred Meier
USA TODAY
Chrysler's delayed new 2014 Jeep Cherokee -- its most important launch this year -- finally arrived at dealers late in October and recorded its first 579 sales.
  • Cars%2C especially at Chevrolet%2C power GM gains
  • Ford rises on F-series truck%2C Fusion family sedan
  • Chrysler basks in Ram%2C Jeep success

The Chrysler Group said today that its October sales jumped 11% from a year ago to the best October since 2007.

It was a 43rd consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains as the company sold 140,083 cars and trucks, with the Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep brands all posting gains.

The U.S. sales boom for pickups lifted the Ram Truck brand 22%, best of any Chrysler brand, with the Ram pickup up 18% to 29,846.

But also driving the total were gains by four Jeep vehicles -- Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Patriot and Compass. The Compass small crossover, an aging model that's been refreshed and got some new features for 2014 was the top Jeep gainer, up 68%. Sales for the brand were up 7%.

Two models for which Chrysler has high hopes -- the delayed all-new Jeep Cherokee compact crossover and the new Fiat-derived Ram Promaster commercial van -- recorded their first sales in the month, albeit just a few.

Chrysler booked 579 sales of the new Cherokee, which showed up at dealers at the end of the month after what Chrysler says was a one-month delay. That was caused by extra time needed to tune software in the new nine-speed transmission. The company is counting on the Cherokee to help drive a strong fourth quarter for the company to hit its 2013 sales and earnings targets.

The company said it saw a rebound after the month began under the economic cloud of the government shutdown.

"After a choppy start to the beginning of the month, Chrysler Group sales accelerated in the second half of the month with renewed consumer confidence and the launch of our all-new Jeep Cherokee," said Reid Bigland.

Among the other brands Dodge was up 18%, led by the Dart compact sedan and Journey crossover having their best October ever and Charger sedan sales up 60% and the Durango SUV, refreshed for 2014, was up 59%.

Chrysler brand was up 6%, led by the Town & Country minivan, up 28% year-over-year. The 200 and 300 sedans posted declines of 5% and 12% respectively.

The Fiat brand was the only sales decliner, despite the continuing launch of the new, bigger 500L small crossover, which grew 26% from September. Sales of the 500 subcompact coupe were off 36% from a year ago.

This post will be updated as the other Detroit makers release their U.S. October sales today.

FORD MOTOR

Ford Motor said its sales were up 14%, making the month the best October for some models. All-in, the No. 2 U.S. car company snagged 191,985 sales in the month.

Standouts:

•Fusion mid-size sedan, up 71%

•Fiesta subcompact, up 9%

•F-series full-size trucks, up 19.8%

It was a record October for Fusion and Fiesta, and the sixth consecutive month that the F-series topped 60,000 sales.

Ford said the sales gains came on all fronts. Car sales rose 19%, the automaker said. SUVs were up 9% and trucks rose 14%, the automaker reported.

Detroit makers, long pariahs on the import-loving West Coast, love to trumpet their new-found successes in California and its neighbors. Ford didn't miss the opportunity. "The strongest growth for Fusion is in the west region of the U.S.," the car company noted.

Ford's moribund Lincoln brand showed some life. Sales of the MKZ, which is based on the Ford Fusion, rocketed 80.2%. Still, that's just 2,909 sales.

The Lincoln MKX, the brand's version of the Ford Edge two-row SUV, was up 26.2%. Still a small-numbers game, that's just 2,022 MKX sales. And for the year so far, it's off 4.7%.

MKZ is the car that Ford is banking on to rejuvenate what it now calls the Lincoln Motor Co. The new Lincoln name is meant to suggest that Lincoln is an independent automaker -- it isn't -- and that its products are more than warmed-over, jazzed-up Fords.

Deadbeats in the Ford sales report:

•C-max, a hybrid-only model aimed dead-on at Toyota's Prius V, was down 20.5%.

•Focus compact, down 17.5%.


GENERAL MOTORS

General Motors said its October sales were up a healthy 16% from a a year earlier, powered by its Chevrolet and Buick brands. The maker said it sold 226,402 new vehicles in October.

"The sales tempo really picked up after the government shutdown ended," said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations. "We are particularly pleased with our truck momentum."

Highlights:

•Buick sales zoomed 31.2% ahead of October a year ago. Regal mid-size sedan was a standout, up 47%.

•GMC, fielding its redesigned Sierra full-size pickups, was up 15.7%. Terrain mid-size SUV had its best October ever, GM said.

•Chevrolet, powered by its cars, rose 14.7%. Cars as a group jumped 32%. The Malibu mid-size sedan, updated for 2014, was up 58%. Cruze compact, which now offers a diesel, was strong.

•Cadillac was the relative under-performer, up 9.5%.

Featured Weekly Ad