2013 H1, great in Brazil, good in USA, bad in Europe

The first 6 months of this year have been a mix of good and bad results for Fiat-Chrysler. Chrysler lead the group’s registrations by selling 910.642 units in USA, up 9%. It was certainly a low increase compared to previous year. GM gained 8%, while Ford’s sales grew 13%. The reason for this result, which still good and allows the group to control 11,63% of the market, is explained by the poor performance of Jeep, Chrysler, and Fiat, as Dodge and Ram did very good with their sedans and pickup. Actually the Ram is now USA’s 5th best-selling car compared to the 7th place it occupied in 2012. The updated Grand Cherokee has taken off yet, but it is expected to do it in the coming months. The problem with Jeep is the lack of a mid-size SUV after the halt of the production of the Liberty. Dodge had a good semester (+22%) thanks to the usual old products: the Avenger and Charger. The Dart is still far from its goal and only 45.000 units were delivered. The big fall of the Chrysler 300 (-29%) wasn’t offset by the moderate growth on 200 and Town & Country’s sales. Fiat posted a gain of 4,4% to 21.612 units, but June results showed that the 500 sales are some how stabilizing. Last month the brand sold 541 units of the 500L.

The best comes from Brazil where Fiat continues to rule. In the first half the brand posted a new record of 380.131 units sold, up 5,1%. Total market advanced 4,7%. Things could have been better if it wasn’t because of the bad results of the Uno, because the Palio, Siena and Strada gained all market share. Actually, the Palio gets close to the Uno and is only 6.000 units behind. The Strada advanced one step in the ranking and is now Brazil’s 5th best-selling car, thanks to 17,5% gain. The Siena continues to be the best-selling sedan. The arrival of the Chevrolet Onix and Hyundai HB20 has had an impact on B-Segment, but in the case of Fiat, its models continue to be very popular. This is partly explained by the good position of Fiat in the B2B market. In June 2013, the brand’s sales to other companies counted for 34% of that market (which counted for 26% of Brazilian total car market). According to Carplace Brazil, Fiat occupied the second position in the B2C market, with 17% in June 2013. Fiat Brazil sold 1,78 more cars than Fiat Group in Italy in 2013-I, while one year before, 2012-I, that index was 1,5.

In Europe things are not that good. Based on ACEA data, the group’s share (Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Jeep) dropped from 6,57% in 2012-I to 6,31% in 2013-I. Total sales fell to 406.684 units, from 452.909 units in 2012-I, down 10,2%. Even if Fiat brand did much better than total market (-6,66%), it wasn’t enough to offset the big fall on Lancia, Alfa, and Jeep’s sales. In other words, the success of the 500 and the 500L in the whole continent, plus the good position of the Panda in Italy, wasn’t enough to offset the lack of product in Alfa Romeo, and the big flop of Lancia models. The group had a good result in the UK, and Spain, but it did very bad in Italy (as the whole market), Germany, and some how in France.

Source: ACEA, UNRAE, Carsitaly.net, Carplace Brazil, Automotive News