Chrysler Group Doesn't So Much Beat Expectations On The Up-Side, Sees Sales Down 8% For February

Unlike the General's breaking performance earlier — the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid beat expectations, just not in the direction they would have liked. So despite beating that 7% prediction from Bear Stearns and actually dropping 8% in sales month-to-month still means they only pushed 174,506 vehicles out the door in February. So if there's a bright side to look at, it's that that level of performance probably makes a great number of German execs in the not-so-much merger of equals quite happy. Oh and yeah, 5,205 of those sales are the new Dodge Avenger — so there's that. Anyway, the full release is below the jump. Read it at your own risk.

Chrysler Group Announces February 2007 U.S. Sales

* Dodge Avenger off to a great start with 5,205 units sold
* Jeep Wrangler posts record February month
* Dodge Caliber sales of 9,900 units, up 14 percent over the last month
* March will be the Chrysler Group's "National Truck Month" — no-extra-charge HEMI upgrade for Dodge Ram

Auburn Hills, Mich., Mar 1, 2007 – Chrysler Group reported sales for February 2007 of 174,506 units; down 8 percent compared to February 2006 with 190,367 units. All sales figures are reported unadjusted.

"In a generally soft market environment in February, the Chrysler Group had good traffic and solid customer interest especially for our newly launched, fuel efficient models like the Dodge Avenger, Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass. Also, the Jeep Wrangler had its best February ever," said Steven Landry, Vice President – Sales and Field Operations, Chrysler Group.

The Dodge Avenger posted sales of 5,205 units. The vehicle is one of the Chrysler Group's five new models that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better in highway driving.

Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited continued to post strong sales in February with 9,240 units, a rise of 63 percent over February 2006 sales of 5,673 units. February 2007 marks the best month of February in the history of the Jeep Wrangler.

Sales of the Jeep Compass increased 3 percent over the previous month with 4,071 units compared to 3,965 units in January 2007.

The Dodge Caliber finished February with sales of 9,900 units, an increase of 14 percent compared to last month with 8,672 units.

Dodge Ram pickup sales continued to increase after an already strong January and posted sales of 28,633 units, up by 17 percent over the previous month with 24,379 units.

"Building on the sales momentum of the Dodge Ram in the first two months of 2007, March will be the Chrysler Group's 'National Truck Month.' Our marketing approach will primarily focus on our biggest volume model, the Dodge Ram, and tie it with the value of one of our most successful product features, the legendary HEMI engine," said Michael Manley, Vice President – Sales and Dealer Operations, Chrysler Group. "Customers have the opportunity to get a no-extra-charge HEMI engine upgrade for the Dodge Ram 1500 as well as the Dodge Durango. We are confident that 'National Truck Month' will resonate well with our customers."

Chrysler Group finished the month with 492,230 units of inventory, or a 68-day supply. Inventory is down by 8 percent compared to February 2006 when it was at 532,534 units.

Related:
Bear Stearns Predicts February US Auto Sales Are Sucktastic, Like January [internal]