We’re gonna need a bigger forum. You all are an enormous reason why Jeep is such a popular brand, but there’s a record number of people out there who share your love of its vehicles. Since November 2013, Jeep has been setting company sales records. April of this year marked its best monthly totals. Ever.
According to the company, “Jeep brand sales were up 20 percent, the brand’s best monthly sales ever and its 19th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.” The new Cherokee was the biggest gainer; dealers sold 27 percent more of them, giving the model its best monthly sales ever.
The Wrangler and the Patriot did well, too. They both had their best April ever in terms of vehicles sold.
In its first full month of being on sale, the new Renegade, the Northwest Automotive Press Association’s Northwest Outdoor Activity Vehicle of the Year and winner of the organization’s Compact Utility category in its recent “Mudfest” competition, racked up a sales figure of 4,214 units.
Perhaps even better news is that Jeep’s parent company, FCA US LLC, sold six percent more vehicles in the U.S. in April (189,027 vehicles) than it did in the same month last year (178,652 vehicles). In fact, the auto group enjoyed its best April sales in nearly a decade and “extended its streak of year-over-year sales gains to 61-consecutive months.”
A healthy FCA means a healthy Jeep. Now if only the FCA company brass would go ahead and make a decision about whether or not production of the Wrangler will stay in Toledo…
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
