Fiat Chrysler sales fall 1% in February

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

The 2019 Jeep Cherokee is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. January 16, 2018.

Fiat Chrysler is reporting that U.S. sales fell 1 percent in February, a harbinger of what’s expected to be a lackluster month for automakers.

The Italian-American automaker said Thursday that sold just over 168,000 vehicles last month. It was led by the all-SUV Jeep brand with sales up 12 percent. But the Ram truck brand fell 14 per cent due largely to a drop in sales to large fleet buyers.

Industry analysts expect February sales to tail off from a year ago as automakers ease up on cash discounts and other incentives that hit record highs last year. Most automakers report sales figures Thursday.

The Edmunds.com auto pricing site and Cox Automotive each expect about a 4 per cent decline, while J.D. Power and LMC Automotive predict around a 2 per cent drop.