Blame Sandy: Super Storm Found Guilty Of Raining On Chrysler October Sales

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Chrysler Group’s U.S. sales rose only 10 percent in October, the smallest gain since May 2011. As suspected yesterday, Super-Sandy has been fingered as the culprit.

Chrysler told Automotive News [sub] that “October sales were affected by the major hurricane and storm that pummeled the eastern U.S. seaboard early this week.” Dodge is up 20 percent, Ram 17 percent. The Chrysler brand gained only 5 percent.

Jeep sales are down 5-percent, which oddly was blamed on the hurricane, along with the discontinuation of the Jeep Liberty.

Ford sales are unchanged from October 2011, GM is up 5 percent. Toyota sales are up 15.8 percent. Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold said that Sandy could have cost 100,000 unit sales in October. If that forecast would come true, there would be zero gains in October.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20121101/RETAIL01/121109995#ixzz2AzH3uVdF

We shall follow the October sales numbers throughout the day.

Chrysler Group LLC U.S. Sales Summary Thru October 2012

Month Sales

Vol %

Sales CYTD

Vol %

Model

Curr Yr

Pr Yr

Change

Curr Yr

Pr Yr

Change

500

3,720

1,965

89%

36,462

15,826

130%

FIAT BRAND

3,720

1,965

89%

36,462

15,826

130%

200

8,758

11,205

-22%

109,025

69,755

56%

Sebring

0

0

0

2,380

-100%

300

5,183

3,701

40%

58,813

27,077

117%

PT Cruiser

0

0

0

1,328

-100%

Town & Country

8,281

6,338

31%

95,850

78,255

22%

CHRYSLER BRAND

22,222

21,244

5%

263,688

178,795

47%

Compass

2,486

5,179

-52%

34,389

39,192

-12%

Patriot

4,209

3,581

18%

53,270

46,234

15%

Wrangler

11,310

9,892

14%

119,787

101,820

18%

Liberty

4,099

5,997

-32%

67,773

55,322

23%

Grand Cherokee

11,919

11,084

8%

123,994

96,853

28%

Commander

0

0

0

105

-100%

JEEP BRAND

34,023

35,733

-5%

399,213

339,526

18%

Caliber

92

1,840

-95%

10,113

32,430

-69%

Dart

5,455

0

New

14,709

0

New

Avenger

7,637

7,136

7%

82,376

52,164

58%

Charger

4,924

3,626

36%

68,409

57,779

18%

Challenger

2,686

3,097

-13%

36,309

33,254

9%

Viper

0

12

-100%

20

156

-87%

Journey

5,955

5,028

18%

65,306

46,734

40%

Caravan

10,603

7,100

49%

118,730

92,930

28%

Nitro

29

2,031

-99%

3,269

20,784

-84%

Durango

3,230

3,864

-16%

33,282

42,944

-22%

DODGE BRAND

40,611

33,734

20%

432,523

379,175

14%

Dakota

2

642

-100%

490

11,299

-96%

Ram P/U

25,222

21,037

20%

238,815

199,010

20%

Cargo Van

385

157

New

5,664

292

New

RAM BRAND

25,609

21,836

17%

244,969

210,601

16%

TOTAL CHRYSLER GROUP LLC

126,185

114,512

10%

1,376,855

1,123,923

23%

TOTAL CAR

38,455

32,582

18%

416,236

290,824

43%

TOTAL TRUCK

87,730

81,930

7%

960,619

833,102

15%

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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Comments
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 7 comments
  • Gentle Ted Gentle Ted on Nov 01, 2012

    Its easy to blame the Weather and yes even in the very last days of the Month of October, ahh it's hard to make such a case, could it be the result of Consumer Reports recently released comments about Chrysler Vehicles?

    • See 2 previous
    • Billfrombuckhead Billfrombuckhead on Nov 01, 2012

      @22_RE_Speedwagon To get an idea how bad things were at Chrysler last month, it was Chrysler's Best October sales since 2007!

  • Silverkris Silverkris on Nov 01, 2012

    It may be mentioned earlier, but in a few months there will be some storm damaged cars on the market which might not be labeled as such. Buyer beware!

    • See 1 previous
    • CJinSD CJinSD on Nov 01, 2012

      @billfrombuckhead Toyota is up 16% while Chrysler is up 10%. Toyota sells more vehicles than Chrysler, so that 16% represents bigger absolute growth too. They outperformed Honda and especially Nissan, but throw in Toyota and the result is reversed.

  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
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