[Allpar News System]

There have been numerous suggestions as to what caused Chrysler Group to drop to No. 5 in the manufacturer rankings last month but according to an article in this week's print edition of Automotive News, Chrysler's slump was most likely due to unusually low fleet sales. As mentioned in Allpar's "July from a Chrysler Perspective," Chrysler Group sales have always dipped in July. However, compared to July 2012, Chrysler's estimated fleet sales fell 36.0%, a drop of about 8,100 units.

Fleet sales accounted for just 10.3% of total Chrysler Group sales in July, the lowest percentage since the company emerged from bankruptcy and a far cry from February 2010, when fleet sales made up 56% of the company's total deliveries for the month. Actual fleet sales volume was the lowest since July 2009. ESTIMATED FLEET SALES: JULY 2013 Manufacturer Jul-13 Fleet Pct. Jul-12 Fleet Pct. Volume Chg. Pct...

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[Erik Latranyi]

Great news!

Lower dependency on fleet sales was a mandatory requirement for Chrysler's long-term survival. This will also help the resale value of the products.

Chrysler could not continue with fleet sales as managed by Daimler.

 

[Mike V.]

As Erik said, fantastic news!

 

[plymouth1]

Yes it is good news. Looks like I'm going to add to Retail August sales numbers. I went shopping today.

I drove a 2.0 Dart with 6 speed auto. It was nice and I liked it. I could see owning one

Then I drove a Compass. I like the mini Grand Cherokee looking front end now compared to the original front end but I wasn't impressed with the way it drove. In a 3 mile test drive I could tell I wouldn't want to drive it everyday

Then I drove a 3.6 Pentastar 6 speed Auto Avenger. By far the best. With the 3K on the hood and my company Affiliate discount it is just a fantastic deal and a lot of car for the money. I now see first hand why its so hard for Dart to get any traction in the market. The Avenger is larger, more powerful with V6 and less expensive in most cases than a Dart. Should have it within a week.

 

[suzq044]

.. exactly @plymouth1

Congrats on the buy

 

[hmk123]

I think this also depends on whether it is the first or second car in a household. I think for the first car the Avenger most of the time is the preferred choice. For a second car I can see people going with the Dart and not the Avenger.

 

[66coronet]

What's wrong with fleet sales? Don't anyone want Dodge charger patrol cars, or Durango patrol, or Ram trucks to the forestry department, or Ram CV & promaster & 1500 to hall parts for companies,or 300C for executives, or taxi ......

I think fleet sales are important. May Ram 1500 crd sell to lots of fleets.

As for rental fleet vehicles, it's still nice to have a few vehicles sold there too. Sometimes it's nice to rent a vehicle for awhile then that might also lead to a sale of a new car. Unless they wait for that rental car to come up for sale.

 

[Roy Thigpen]

It's all about a healthy balance. If you have too much of a fleet portion, it will bring down the residual value on the leased vehicles, and effect the resale value on used cars. A good example is the latest generation of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The resale value of the 2012 model actually went up after about six months on the lot, since a much smaller percentage of them were coming off fleets, than the previous generation.

 

[UN4GTBL]

I'd MUCH rather see a decline in fleet sales (planned or not) than retail sales...

 

[Stratuscaster]

If you are making money, then "fleet sales" aren't all that bad. It's in how you manage them.

As noted - fleet sales to police doesn't really affect pricing on the used car market. Fleet sales to rental car companies that then end up on the used car lots can (and often do) drive down the prices on those cars (because of the increased supply), which in turn can lower the "value" of the car as well.

Which is why late model Impalas tend to be pretty cheap.