Sales up 37% in December, 26% for the year
The Wall Street Journal reported that Chrysler Group's U.S. auto sales rose 37 percent in December, capping "a strong recovery" last year. Chrysler is benefiting from a far reaching overhaul of its model line that Chief Executive Sergio Mar-chionne pushed through in 2010, the Wall Street Journal wrote.
The New York Times noted that December was the best month in nearly three years for Chrysler Group, as passenger car deliveries more than doubled and total sales rose 37 percent. Chrysler's sales for all of 2011 were up 26 percent, which was the largest annual increase among major automakers, the newspaper reported.
"Chrysler Group finished a year of growth on a strong note with our December retail sales soaring 45 percent to our high-est dealer retail sales in four years," said Reid Bigland, Chrysler's U.S. sales chief, the Detroit News reported. "Looking back, we were the fastest growing automaker in the country, increasing our market share 1.3 percentage
points during 2011."
December was the company's 21st consecutive month of year over year sales gains for Chrysler, and the company credited its continuing success to new and refreshed vehicles such as the Jeep® Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 200, the Detroit News reported.
"They've done a remarkable job sprucing up their vehicles," Edmunds analyst Michelle Krebs told Reuters.
Bloomberg News reported that Chrysler Group's U.S. sales exceeded analysts' estimates as Chrysler's Jeep brand posted its best December since 2007.
According to Reuters, Chrysler reported December U.S. sales of 138,019 new vehicles, compared with 100,702 a year earlier. The results were in line with forecasts by industry re-search firms Edmunds.com and TrueCar.com, Reuters said.