US Auto Sales Drop in Q2 except Chrysler, which jumped 95 Percent [UPDATE]

While most automakers report significant drops in sales, the Pacifica is ahead due to backlogs.

Tesla reported 254,695 deliveries during the quarter. This is a 26.5 percent increase year-over-year. However, deliveries are down from more than 300,000. In Q1 2022.

Automakers announce sales figures for the second quarter 2022 as the United States enters a holiday weekend. The numbers paint a grim picture for most brands, except for one unexpected number from Chrysler.

The Detroit brand, a legend in the auto industry, reported a 95 percent sales increase. This is compared to other automakers who report sales drops of 10 to 50 percent. This is a significant number. However, Chrysler has only two vehicles currently in showrooms – three if one considers the Pacifica or Pacifica hybrid as distinct entities. Percentage-wise, it’s huge. However, we still have a low sales volume when compared to other brands.

Chrysler reports sales data for both standard and hybrid models. 32,097 units were sold during Q2. The minivan saw a 143 percent increase in sales last year as only 13,229 Pacificas were sold. Other Chrysler sales are also included in the scale, which shows a 95 percent gain for this quarter and a 13% gain through the first half 2022. Subaru is the only company that has posted a gain so far, with a slight increase of 0.7 percent. Subaru’s June report is not available.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles explained in its Q2 announcement that Pacifica’s sales surge was due to a backlog fleet orders. Although the Hybrid was mentioned in the company’s Q2 announcement, it wasn’t included in FCA’s sales charts.

The quarter was not as good for Chrysler’s FCA stablemates. Ram declined 27 percent, while Dodge dropped 30 percent. Jeep’s 11 percent decline may not seem too bad, but then we get to Fiat. Although US sales dropped by a jaw-dropping 72%, Fiat, like Chrysler, is a low volume brand.

Kia saw a slight drop of 4.9 per cent in June (no quarterly reports were available). Hyundai fell 13 percent during the quarter. The chip shortage in Japan was not a problem for Japanese companies. Honda dropped 50.7 percent, while Acura dropped 51.2 percent. Infiniti and Nissan experienced similar drops of 38.6 percent and 40.9 percent respectively. Lexus and Toyota did better with 18.3 percent and 15.2 percent respectively.