Stellantis U.S. sales down 21% in second quarter compared to a year ago

Stellantis saw its U.S. sales drop significantly in the second quarter of 2024, the latest in a series of declines in recent reporting periods for the automaker that owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands.

The news was not unexpected, but the level of decline was more substantial than previous periods. Stellantis last had a quarterly sales increase in the second quarter of 2023.

Stellantis said it had U.S. sales of 344,993 in the second quarter, down 21% compared with the same period a year ago, when the company sold 434,648 vehicles.

Detroit Three rival General Motors, by contrast, reported a slight gain in U.S. sales for the quarter, up 0.6% to 696,086 vehicles. Ford is scheduled to report sales later this week.

Among its brands sold in the United States, only the low-volume Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands were up for the quarter. Jeep dropped 19%, Ram was down 26%, Chrysler fell 19% and Dodge declined 17% for the quarter compared with the same period in 2023. Alfa was up 8%, and Fiat reported sales of 316 vehicles for the quarter compared with 144 a year ago. As is typical, the company did not release sales numbers for its luxury Maserati brand.

One bright spot was an increase in sales for a couple of its more expensive and profitable models, the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.

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Stellantis also continued to note its strength with plug-in hybrid models. Citing the S&P Global Mobility U.S. State Registrations database through April 30, the release said that “the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Dodge Hornet R/T and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid held their ranking as four of the top-five best-selling plug-in hybrids in the U.S.”

Matt Thompson, head of U.S. retail sales for Stellantis, touted changes underway in its strategy, including pricing adjustments and incentives.

“With the moves we made the first half of the year, including working toward a multi-energy strategy consisting of (electric, hybrid and internal combustion engine) vehicles that meets the demand of our customers, and pricing adjustments across our U.S. brands, including Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and Ram, we’re seeing significant momentum this quarter over the previous quarter of 2024, both in total U.S. sales, which saw an increase of 4% during the period, and in market share,” Thompson said in the release. “Additionally, beginning today, we are launching a national ‘Summer Select Inventory Bonus Cash’ incentive campaign, which will provide up to $2,000 cash back across many of our nameplates.

The leadership of the sales team has been one piece of a significant shake-up at the automaker this year and last, with the departure of numerous executives in different roles in North America. Thompson, for instance, replaced Jason Stoicevich as senior vice president of U.S. retail sales less than three months after Stoicevich, who has left the company, took over the position in a reorganization this year.

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Stellantis, in its news release, did not reference the cyberattack on Chicago-based CDK Global believed to have affected about half of the dealers in the United States, including those who sell Stellantis vehicles. The situation forced dealers in at least some cases to resort to using paper records. The attack hit in the second half of June, but has not yet been fully resolved. CDK Global spokeswoman Lisa Finney issued a statement Monday saying all dealers are expected to have their connections restored by Thursday morning.

However, the release did quote Kevin Farrish, National Dealer Council chairman for Stellantis, related to a range of issues.

“We’ve been working very closely with Stellantis leadership to better serve our customers by providing the mix of products they desire and at competitive pricing,” Farrish said. “It’s been a very open, collaborative effort working together as a team, and we'll continue to tackle these important issues together on behalf of our customers."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.