“Last month, FCA US restated sales from 2011 to 2016 under a new reporting methodology after admitting that its sales reports were the subject of a federal investigation. After restating the numbers, the automaker said that what had been a 75-month streak of year-over-year monthly sales increases had actually ended in September 2013 after 40 months.”
That big difference doesn’t change the fact that FCA’s US sales in July were up 0.3 percent – to 180,727 units – compared to July of 2015. It’s a small bump, but a bump nonetheless. Ram and Jeep were the only brands in the FCA US portfolio that contributed to that increase by being in the black.
Jeep, in particular, sold five percent more vehicles in July than it did in the same month last year. Many of those were Renegades; dealers sold 10,057 of them in July – a year-over-year increase of 57 percent. The Compass was up by 31 percent. Its Patriot cousin was up by 11 percent. The Wrangler? Sales of that took a five-percent dip last month. The Cherokee was even worse off, taking a 12-percent sales hit.
Overall, the month of July was largely an indication of Jeep’s year-to-date sales. The same models that were up in July are up for the year – so far. By both counts, the Renegade is the leader. As of now, sales of the junior Jeep are up 211 percent. Jeep has sold 72 percent more Compass SUVs between the beginning of January and the end of July than it did in the same stretch of 2015. Despite the fact that Wrangler and Cherokee sales are in the negative (by small single digits), the Jeep brand as a whole is up by 14 percent as of the end of July.
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.
