Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV reported a smaller U.S. deliveries gain than expected, as frosty temperatures across much of the country dragged on demand even for the hot-selling Jeep SUV brand.
Sales rose 2.5 percent in January, according to a company statement, missing analysts’ average estimate for a 5 per cent jump. The only brand to grow for the month was Ram, with a 24 per cent surge in truck and van deliveries.
“In spite of some frigid January weather, we remain bullish on 2019 given the continued underlying strength of the US economy,” Reid Bigland, Fiat Chrysler’s head of U.S. sales, said in the statement.
The annualized industry sales rate may have slowed to 16.9 million cars and light trucks in January, from 17.1 million a year ago, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
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