STELLANTIS SALES ARE TANKING, FOLKS

Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler are way down but the Italian brands are actually up.

Stellantis announced second-quarter sales figures for its brands under Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and the news isn't good. Double-digit drops are everywhere, with two very curious exceptions. All the Detroit-based brands are down, but the Italians—notably Fiat and Alfa Romeo—are up.

Ram suffered the biggest blow, falling 26 percent for Q2. A total of 90,100 trucks and 15,369 ProMaster vans were sold from April through June. The Promaster City, which ended production in 2022, still had seven sales. Overall, Ram's yearly performance matches Q2 with a 26 percent drop. That could change for the better as the refreshed 2025 Ram 1500 pickup reaches dealerships later in the year.

Jeep and Chrysler both had 19-percent year-over-year drops. The decreases aren't entirely unexpected, especially at Chrysler, which only builds on car: The Pacifica. A total of 37,786 were sold, a 16-percent drop for the minivan. And we continue to bid the dead 300 farewell with 1,998 sales, down 53 percent.

It's a similar story at Jeep with the canceled Cherokee and Renegade, dragging percentages down. But in-production vehicles were down too, namely the Wrangler at 17 percent, Gladiator at 24 percent, and the Grand Cherokee—Jeep's best-selling vehicle at 52,296 units—down 26 percent. Only the Wagoneer family kept things from being worse, logging a 24-percent increase for the pricey Grand Wagoneer and a 107-percent jump for the standard version.

Dodge is also in a transition phase, falling 17 percent. The Challenger is dead but 11,480 still found homes in the second quarter, a drop of just 11 percent. The current-generation Charger is also out of production, leading to its significant 34-percent decline with 16,216 sold. The Durango fell nine percent to 17,792 units as it nears its end-of-production date. The only model currently in Dodge's lineup not exiting production is the Hornet, but it's not exactly popular. Only 4,299 were sold in the second quarter.

Now for some good news, complete with a healthy dose of irony. Alfa Romeo posted a sales increase of eight percent for Q2 thanks to 887 sales of the Tonale. Yes, Alfa's version of the Dodge Hornet helped the Italian company eke out a positive quarter, offsetting Giulia and Stelvio sales, which fell 24 and 29 percent. And then we get to plucky Fiat, posting an astounding 119 percent year-over-year sales jump. Don't get too excited, though. The company sold 163 500s this year compared to just one (yes, one) last year.

We suspect there are some concerned executives in the corporate halls of FCA's Auburn Hills headquarters right now. With new products for Ram and Dodge coming soon, it'll be interesting to see if these numbers turn around at least somewhat in the second half of the year.