Dealers Claim FCA Falsified Sales Reports

Two dealerships outside Chicago have filed a federal lawsuit claiming Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV offered them cash to report unsold vehicles as sold, Automotive News reports. FCA says it won’t comment until it receives and reviews the lawsuit.

The complaint by member dealers of the Napleton Automotive Group says FCA asked certain dealers to report inventory as sold on the last day of the month, then reverse the sales on the following day before paperwork was processed. In one example cited in the suit, a dealer was offered $20,000 to falsely report 40 extra sales in one month.

The plaintiffs say FCA has used the scheme to help it report a string of 69 months of year-on-year sales gains, thus making the company appear healthier than it was. AN notes that FCA officials bragged about the chain of gains as recently as this week.

According to the lawsuit, FCA strong-armed dealers into falsifying their sales numbers through a sales bonus plan that gave them nothing if they fell even slightly below their monthly target.

The suit says the company was aware that some dealers reported false sales totals to achieve their sales goal. AN notes the FCA plan was modified this month to pay a lesser amount if dealers missed their goals but came within 90%.