Out of the Big 3, Chrysler Group LLC – Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler – seems to have suffered the most performance-wise since the financial crisis. The American automaker reported a sales drop of 9 percent for July 2009. A sales drop is never good, but the group was one of the best performers for the month, posting smaller drops than GM, Toyota and Honda. A 9 percent sales drop is significantly better than the huge double-digit drops its reported in previous months.

All three brands benefited for the government’s Cash for Clunkers program. Chrysler’s sales dropped by -21 percent for the month compared to the same period last year (16,549 vehicles compared to 20,858 units). The biggest culprits for the big drop were the abysmal Sebring, down 27 percent; the 300C, down 40 percent; and the Town And Country, down 15 percent to 6,837 vehicles. The PT Cruiser was a bright spot for Chrysler, with sales rising +24 percent to 4,092 units.

Dodge benefited the most for the CARS program. Total sales dropped by a mere 8 percent. The Caliber outsold every single Chrysler nameplate. The Avenger, with 5,616 units greatly outsold the Sebring, its platform mate. The Charger, with 2,663 vehicles sold, beat the 300, while the Caravan (8,405 units) beat T&C. The Journey remained in the game with 4,165 units sold.

Jeep was the best performer of the three brands, with sales dropping by a minuscule 2 percent. Jeep Patriot sales increased by a whopping 134 percent to 8,084 units, which was enough to compensate for disastrous 81 percent drop of the Commander (552 units sold). The compass also saw a healthy growth of 95 percent to 2,736 units. The Wrangler was not as lucky, with sales falling 25 percent.

Source: Chrysler

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