Fiat SpA trims share price decline, Chrysler US sales surge 20%, posts best July since 2005

Chrysler Group LLC, wholly owned by Fiat SpA, reported on Friday that its US sales surged by 20% in July from a year earlier as its Jeep brand posted a whopping 41% surge in sales, compared to the companys projections of an 8% average growth for the industry.

Although analysts had expected a 25.5% jump in Chryslers sales, this was still the companys best July since 2005, having sold 167 667 vehicles in the US, compared to 140 102 during July 2013. This was the third-biggest US car manufacturers 52nd consecutive month of sales growth.

Chrysler said that car sales contracted by 1% but truck sales, which made up 78% of Julys total sales, jumped by 27%. Its main growth driver was the Jeep brand which posted a 41% jump in sales, led by the Cherokee and Wrangler SUVs. This was Jeeps best July on record.

The Ram pickup truck, a competitor to Fords best-selling model, the F-150, saw purchases rise by 14%. Sales at the Chrysler brand rose by 17%, while the Dodge brand was up 3%.

Reid Bigland, head of Chrysler Group U.S. sales, said in a statement, cited by Bloomberg: “Chrysler Group had a solid July as each brand recorded sales gains on our way to a 20 percent year-over-year increase, our strongest July sales in nine years.”

Other US automakers are expected to report their July performance throughout the day. Each major market participant, except Volkswagen AG, is expected to log a year-on-year jump in sales as well.

General Motors Co is projected to post a sales increase of 11%, according to a Reuters survey of analysts. Toyota Motor Corp is likely to post an 11% jump as well, while Ford Motor Cos sales are expected to have jumped by 9%.

Earlier, Hyundai Motor Co announced that it sold 67 011 vehicles, a growth of 1.5% and an all-time record high for a July. Nissan Motor Co.s sales rose by 11%, trailing projections for a 14% growth.

Chrysler predicted the industrys July sales to be a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 16.8 million vehicles, topping analysts forecasts for 16.7 million and the 15.8 million pace achieved during the comparable period a year earlier.

Fiat SpA was down 0.62% at 13:26 GMT to trade at 7.20 euros per share in Milan, marking a one-year change of +17.46%. Shares had fallen to a daily low of 6.92 euros earlier in the trading session. The car maker is valued at 9.06 billion euros. According to the Financial Times, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Fiat SpA have a median target of 7.05 euros, with a high estimate of 11.00 euros and a low estimate of 4.00 euros. The median estimate represents a -2.69% decrease from the last close of 7.25 euros.