CHICAGO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reported on Tuesday a 3 percent decline in U.S. auto sales for the first quarter of 2019, while another key auto maker General Motors (GM) suffered a 7 percent fall compared to the same period in 2018.
FCA's drop was led by a 7 percent decline in sales of its Jeep brand, and a 6 percent fall in Dodge brand. Its Ram brand sales surged 21 percent, but still failed to boost the over-all sales in first quarter, which were 498,425 units, down from 514,769 in the same period of 2018.
"The industry had a tough first quarter but with spring finally starting to show its face and continued strong economic indicators, such as a boost in housing sales, lower lending rates and a strong labor market, we are confident that new vehicle sales demand will strengthen going forward," said Reid Bigland, FCA's U.S head of sales.
"Meanwhile, our Ram brand sales and average transaction prices continue to be strong and our much anticipated, game-changing Jeep Gladiator pickup is on track for its in-market debut this month," he added.
Also on Tuesday, GM reported auto sales of 665,840 units in Q1, down from 715,794 year on year.
The decline was mainly caused by the downbeat sales of its Chevrolet brand, which totaled 452,401 units, or a 7.8 percent drop from Q1 2018.
However, the first-quarter average transaction prices for GM's all-new, light-duty pickups were 8,040 U.S. dollars higher compared to their outgoing models in Q1 2018, with the GMC Sierra leading the segment, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates.
"We are bullish on pickups and expect to gain sales momentum throughout the year," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president in charge of sales operations.
