Jeep Bolsters U.S. Volume with Increased Fleet Sales

Fiat Chrysler Automobile NV’s Jeep SUV brand has hiked its sales to rental car companies more than 50% this year, The Wall Street Journal calculates.

Such sales increase volume and can help expose a brand to new potential customers. But the practice also may weaken the brand’s image and erode resale values when the models are later dumped into the used-car market.

The Journal says Jeep’s fleet sales in the first 10 months of 2015 climbed to about 80,000 units, or 11% of the brand’s total domestic deliveries. Overall Jeep sales in the U.S. grew 24% to 706,500 units over the same period, according to Autodata Corp.

FCA tells the newspaper the addition of the Jeep Cherokee SUV in this year’s fleet contracts accounts for a sizable portion of the volume boost.