Marchionne Impatient About Sluggish Jeep Sales

CEO Sergio Marchionne tells reporters in Detroit that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has done a “lousy job” promoting its iconic Jeep SUV brand globally.

Worldwide demand for Jeeps slipped 1% to 1.39 million units last year. The brand appears unlikely to meet this year’s goal of 2 million sales.

Last year Jeep deliveries in Europe grew 4% to 108,300 units, according to trade group ACEA. But the market for SUV/crossovers there and worldwide is expanding by roughly 25% per year. Declares Marchionne, “I have now run out of patience.”

Marchionne believes Jeep has the potential to capture 20% of the global SUV market—or some 5 million sales per year.

Jeep’s worldwide sales last year were hurt by an 11% decline to 828,500 vehicles in the U.S., by far the brand’s largest market. Automotive News Europe says the slump was caused by a decision to cut unprofitable fleet sales in North America.

ANE cites internal company data that show the downturn in North America offset varying sales gains elsewhere. FCA doesn’t normally report global sales results by brand.

The company’s internal figures indicate that Jeep sales in Asia Pacific jumped 36% to 240,900 units in 2017.