The manufacturer didn't even manage to surpass the 100,000 units mark, exiting September well below that and selling 62,197 units. The good news, if it can be considered so, is that the Chrysler market share increased compared to August.
“While we had some bright spots in September, it was still a challenging sales environment for the industry,” Peter Fong, Chrysler brand CEO said in a release. “Low inventories of popular models at the start of the month hampered Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge sales, however, the company responded with increased production. The company finished the month with increased market share compared with August 2009."
To temper the downward spiral, Chrysler announced the introduction of several incentives, covering just about the entire vehicle line-up. For 2010 Dodge vehicles, Chrysler offers a choice between 0 percent financing for up to 36 months through GMAC plus consumer cash of up to $1,000 or or consumer cash of up to $3,000.
For 2009 vehicles Chrysler offers 0 percent financing for up to 72 months through GMAC or up to $4,500 consumer cash. All the incentives will be on the table this month only, yet they don't change the how Chrysler perceives the remainder of the year.
“We believe the remainder of 2009 will continue to be a challenge for the U.S. automotive market. Credit markets have thawed slightly, but still remain tight, and consumer confidence, as we saw in September, is tenuous,” Fong concluded.
The company's CEO Sergio Marchionne, however, has a different opinion, although aware of the fact that October may be as bad, if not worse.
"September is not an indication of future performance, I'm not apologizing for it, it is the consequence of a number of actions that were taken in the past, all of which have culminated in the month of September - you may see similar numbers in October, I don't know," he was quoted as saying by just-auto.com.
"The future is a lot better than the market share in September would indicate."
Google News