Chances are it's not for sale. Or is it?
The end of year sales figures are in for FCA and there's no doubting reality: America loves the Jeep Wrangler. Like, really, really loves it. For the month of December alone, a total of 19,800 Wranglers were sold. The year-end tally, however, is even more impressive: 240,032. And that does not include other Jeep models, such as the Renegade, Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee.
In fact, 2018 Wrangler sales, according to FCA, reached a new record, smashing the previous record of 202,266 units, set in 2015. Remember during Chrysler's bankruptcy when Chinese automakers and investors were circling the Jeep brand like hawks, just waiting to snag it up for a cheap price? Aren't you glad they didn't? The Chinese are definitely regretting not finding a way to make that purchase.
And now that the new Wrangler-based Gladiator pickup truck has debuted, expect next year's Wrangler sales to be even higher, assuming Jeep groups the Wrangler and Gladiator as one. Even if it doesn't, the very fact that a somewhat crude off-roader with endless nostalgic charm, which now comes with a truck bed, is such a strong seller must be music to FCA's ears. What's more, a huge chunk of FCA's end of year profits also came from Ram. Sales were up by 37 percent in December for a total of 68,195 vehicles.
The Ram 1500, in particular, sold astonishingly well as sales were up by 15 percent for a total of 377,286 units sold in 2018. A total of 597,368 Ram vehicles were sold last year.
As we previously noted, even the aging Dodge Challenger is hanging on just fine with a 3 percent sales increase for 2018 with a total of 66,716 units, also a new yearly record. It was the only Dodge vehicle to be singled out for its strong sales, indicating the rest of the lineup didn't end the year nearly as well.
As for the Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Fiat brands, last month's sales were down by 4, 28, and 44 percent, respectively. But it's the Jeep Wrangler that continues to be the official star for all of FCA, and there's no sign of a slowdown for 2019.
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