2014 Ram 2500 Heavy-Duty
Four years – 48 months – is a long time.
That’s how long it takes most high school and college students to earn a degree, it’s the frequency of U.S. presidential elections, and it’s the lengthy interval between the Summer Olympic Games.
It’s also a milestone for the Chrysler Group. March was the 48th-consecutive month that Chrysler Group was able to report a year-over-year gain in vehicle sales.
Back on May 3, 2010, Chrysler Group reported that our vehicle sales in April 2010 increased 25% compared with the same month in 2009. That 25% increase was the start of a remarkable string of monthly sales gains.
Reid Bigland, our Head of U.S. Sales, likes to refer to it as the “iron man streak,” a fitting moniker given the sheer length of the streak and the strength of the product lineup that is fueling it. We believe it is one of the longest in modern automotive history.
The streak has become far more than just percentage increases that we cite at the conclusion of each month. We are proud of this streak and how it has transformed from a curiosity into a symbol of our continuing success in the marketplace.
Of course, much has changed in the past four years. Gone are some popular models that helped maintain the streak four years ago. Today, exciting newcomers help sustain our streak like the all-new Jeep Cherokee mid-size SUV (right), Ram ProMaster full-size van, Dodge Dart compact car, Fiat 500L, and diesel-powered Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Just around the corner is the all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan, and early next year, the all-new Jeep Renegade, the Jeep brand’s first entry in the small SUV segment, makes its debut in dealership showrooms.
In addition, the strength of our Ram pickup truck has helped to propel the company’s sales streak forward. The pickup truck’s success nearly mirrors the company’s streak. In March, the Ram pickup truck logged its 47th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains – just one month shy of the company’s streak.
So now that we have reported our March sales today, we can pause and reflect on what we’ve accomplished in the past 48 months. But it’s a brief pause because we realize that all streaks eventually come to an end, and we don’t want to see that happen any time soon.
