In the first six months of this year, Dodge and Chrysler brands sold more cars and trucks than in any other six-month period in their history, breaking seven sales records in the process. DaimlerChrysler Corporation's Chrysler Group's (Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep) total sales for the first six months of 2000 were 1,350,638 units down 3-percent compared to last year's record, making this the second best six-month period ever.
"We've moved from blistering sales to robust sales," said Theodor Cunningham, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing. "While the industry is not running at the torrid pace of 1999, DaimlerChrysler is maintaining its momentum."
"Last year's May and June were nothing short of phenomenal," said Cunningham. "When you use those months as benchmarks, our numbers are slightly down. We are also living in an increasingly competitive marketplace full of aggressive sales incentives and jump after jump in interest rates. But overall, we are very much on target with our 2000 sales goals."
Highlights for the first 6 months of 2000 for the Jeep brand include:
-Jeep brand sales of 250,835 units were down 8-percent making this the second best six-month period ever
-Jeep Grand Cherokee sales of 132,400 units are down 4-percent making this the second best six-month period
DaimlerChrysler Corporation U.S. Sales Summary, Thru June 2000 Month Sales DR % Sales CYTD DR % Model Curr Yr Pr Yr Change Curr Yr Pr Yr Change Wrangler 9310 9908 -6% 47429 47880 -2% Cherokee 10102 15185 -33% 71006 84787 -17% Grand Cherokee 20966 24029 -13% 132400 136960 -4% JEEP BRAND 40378 49122 -18% 250835 269627 -8% From The Toledo Blade:
DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S. side didn't expect the Toledo-made Jeep Cherokee to break or even equal record sales from last year - but officials didn't count on a 17 percent slide through the first six months of 2000, either, an executive said yesterday.
Sales of the Cherokee - which eventually will be replaced by a still-secret Toledo-made Jeep to be introduced next summer - plunged 33 per cent last month alone, to 10,102 nationwide. Competition from other compact sport-utility vehicles, along with a recent switch from leasing to cash incentives that hurt sales in Detroit, Los Angeles, and other lease-heavy areas, contributed to the Cherokee's decline, said Theodor Cunningham, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for DaimlerChrysler Corp.
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