Last-day sales help Chrysler in shortened month

DETROIT -- Chrysler Group eked out a 1 percent sales gain in September, its 42nd consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

The automaker sold 143,017 vehicles in the United States last month, which had two fewer selling days than September 2012.

Strong sales of the Ram 1500 helped the pickup line post an 8 percent gain for the month, despite a decline in sales of Ram heavy-duty pickups.

Four models, the Jeep Compass and Patriot, and Dodge Dart and Challenger, set September records. Sales of the Dodge Durango climbed 66 percent.

Three of the company's four brands were up from September 2012. Ram brand sales climbed 8 percent, Dodge was up 3 percent, and Chrysler was up 2 percent.

The Jeep brand fell 5 percent, in part because the automaker delayed the launch of the 2014 Cherokee. More than 12,000 units were being held because the company sought to correct problems with the powertrain software.

Wrangler sales dipped 1 percent in September, the vehicle's first sales monthly decline since July 2012.

Sales of the Fiat brand fell 24 percent. The Fiat 500 declined sharply for the third consecutive month and was only partially offset by the sales from the new Fiat 500L four-door hatchback.

Chrysler said it had a 62-day supply of unsold inventory on hand at the end of the month. c