Sergio Marchionne set a sales goal of 1 million units for Jeep this year and the brand hit the mark.
When FCA Chief Sergio Marchionne told reporters at last year’s Detroit Auto Show he expected Jeep to sell 1 million units worldwide in 2014, many considered it a stretch goal, especially since the original forecast was for about 800,000 units. Well, what Sergio wants, it appears he gets as frenzied U.S. sales helped propel Jeep past the mark.
Jeep set a new all-time record for the third consecutive year with sales of 1,017,019, which bettered the brand’s 2013 record of 731,565 by 39%.
“2014 marks the fifth consecutive year that Jeep vehicle sales have increased both globally and in the U.S. market,” said Mike Manley, president and CEO – Jeep Brand. “While we are especially pleased with the way the new Jeep Cherokee is resonating in the marketplace, the fact is that every vehicle in the Jeep lineup recorded significant worldwide sales gains.”
Marchionne’s faith in the brand, which he reinforced in May when he reiterated his goal that Jeep sales should exceed 1 million units this year, may have been rooted in real logic. This year marked the fifth consecutive year of increased Jeep sales, both globally and in the U.S.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee was the brand's best-selling vehicle in 2014, helping to push Jeep over the 1-million unit mark in 2014.
In 2013, the brand recorded increases of 4% globally and 3% in the U.S. The previous three years saw increases of: 19% globally and 13% U.S. (2012); 41% globally and 44% U.S. (2011); and 24% globally and 26% U.S. (2010).
The success of Jeep has been enormously beneficial to its parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, as well, contributing significantly FCA’s exceptional results in the U.S. both in December and throughout 2014. Jeep’s growth, and FCA in general, has been driven by new products that have appealed to both FCA loyalists and owners of competitive makes, according to IHS Automotive Analyst Tom Libby.
Libby said IHS Automotive registration data shows that the Jeep brand’s loyalty has increased the most of any brand in the industry through the first 10 months of 2014, which is the most recent data available.
The data also shows that Jeep’s increase in conquests from competitors – relative to defections – has been greater than that of any other brand in the industry. Jeep’s appeal to both prior Jeep owners as well as owners of competitive products “has propelled the brand to extraordinary sales and share gains throughout 2014, and these gains have played a key role in FCA Automobiles’ success,” Libby said.
Jeep made the conquests despite some intense criticism from Consumer Reports. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited recently wound up at the bottom of the magazine’s New-Car Value ratings.
“Known best for its off-road ability, the hard-riding, ponderous, uncomfortable and unreliable Wrangler has a Value Score of 0.07, and costs $0.77 per mile to operate,” the magazine said of the Wrangler.
Jeep, however, has been able to shrug off the criticism, in part, because customers seem to like its rugged authenticity, which is built on its off-road capability and its heritage as a military vehicle. The U.S. Army used Jeeps from 1940 when the first one was built in Toledo, Ohio, until nearly the very end of the Cold War in 1989.
Jeep is counting on sales of the Renegade to ensure sales continue to grow in 2015.
Manley also noted Jeep is well positioned to set another record to 2015 as production of Jeep-branded vehicles spread to Europe for the first time with production of the compact Jeep Renegade, which is scheduled to go on sale in March and Jeep’s return to China where it can claim to have been instrumental in launching the country’s automotive revolution with its Beijing Jeep venture.
(Jeep closing in on 1-million unit sales mark. For details, Click Here.)
“While achieving 1 million vehicle sales in 2014 was certainly a milestone, 2015 will be a transformational year in the globalization of the brand, as we begin local manufacturing in Brazil and return to local manufacturing in China after an absence of nearly a decade,” Manley added.
“We will strive to continue our sales momentum in 2015 with a full lineup of capable and efficient SUVs – including the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade, as it arrives in showrooms in markets around the world.” Manley said.
(Click Here for details about FCA’s five-year plan.)
In addition to its 39% global increase, Jeep sales rose 41% in the U.S. in 2014, with a record 692,348 total sales.
Jeep sales rose 40% in Europe, Middle East & Africa region and 42% in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014. In China – the world’s largest automobile market – sales rose 49%.
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Jeep sales were led globally and in the U.S. by Grand Cherokee with 279,567 units globally and 183,786 in the U.S. They were followed by: Cherokee (236,289 global; 178,508 U.S.); Wrangler (234,579 global; 175,328 U.S.); Compass (134,629 global; 61,264 U.S.); and Patriot (122,387 global; 93,462 U.S.).
Currently, the Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Grand Cherokee, Patriot, Renegade, Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left and right-hand drive configurations and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options.