Despite lower September and year-to-date Jeep sales, several of the company’s models have done well, and even set records.
Jeep recently posted its U.S. sales numbers for the month of September. The bottom lines are in the red, but not everything on its report is that color.
Last month, Jeep dealers in the states sold 73,409 vehicles — four percent fewer vehicles than they moved last September. Breaking things down into retail and fleet sales results in a brighter picture. FCA as whole is gradually reducing its rental fleet sales. Jeep’s September retail sales went up nine percent.
Jeep’s year-to-date sales are down by an even larger amount than its September sales. In the first nine months of this year, Jeep has sold 12 percent fewer vehicles than it did in the same period of 2016 (622,242 vs. 707,106). The Compass and Cherokee (both down 26 percent) and the ancient Patriot (down 60 percent), as well as Jeep’s pulling away from fleet sales, are the biggest contributors to that number.
There are some models that are firmly in the black, though. Year-to-date sales of the Grand Cherokee have increased 18 percent relative to last year. The Renegade is up four percent. Even the Wrangler is above break-even at a one percent increase.
Things look even better when you look at the performance of particular models in September. According to FCA, “Compass sales were up 75 percent in September, the compact SUV’s best sales month ever” of 11,356 units. The Jeep Renegade had its best September yet, finding 9,350 buyers – an increase of 38 percent. Its bigger brother, the Grand Cherokee, enjoyed its most successful September in 17 years. Its sales rocketed up 20 percent from last September to 22,270 vehicles. Wrangler buyers helped boost the model’s September sales by 10 percent to 15,714 JKs.
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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.
