Ram boosts Stellantis sales in first quarter
Published in Business News
U.S. sales of Jeeps, Rams, Dodges and other Stellantis NV brands altogether grew 4% year-over-year in the first three months of 2026, the transatlantic automaker said on Wednesday.
The struggling automaker has found hints of a turnaround in the United States under new leadership, positioning it for growth in 2026 after overall sales last year fell by 3%, a seventh-straight annual decline. Ram sales boomed 20% in the first quarter, Jeep was up 3% and Dodge grew by 4%, contributing to total sales of 305,902 for the period.
"There have been plenty of challenges facing the industry this quarter," Jeff Kommor, who heads U.S. sales for Stellantis, said in a statement, "but these results are proof that we are effectively activating our business reset."
The second half of 2025 saw sales growing somewhat, but company executives told dealers they expected a firm reversal to materialize in 2026. The automaker has set an ambitious goal of growing its retail-only U.S. sales volume by 25% this year. That includes traditional sales through its 2,400 dealerships but not fleet sales to big companies or government agencies.
"There are no more excuses," Kommor said after a meeting with the automaker's dealer body in February. Sean Hogan, a Los Angeles-area Stellantis retailer who chairs the dealer body council for the manufacturer, said after the same closed-door gathering that everyone knows that 2026 is a "pivotal year" for the company: "We need straight-up volume," he said. Many dealers have struggled with their own stores' profitability in recent years.
Ram pickup sales increased 25%, and the 1500 had its best first quarter since 2023. Heavy-duty trucks grew by 21% for their best first quarter since 2022. The Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV's sales grew by 10%, and Wrangler's were up 17% for its best first quarter since 2022. Grand Wagoneer's overall sales exploded 110%.
Chrysler sales declined 33%, though minivans had two consecutive months of increased retail sales. Fiat was down 70%, and Alfa Romeo dropped by 53%.
The company is chasing a recovery both in the United States and globally after recording about$26 billion in charges last month tied to unwinding its investments into electric vehicles, and also losing money in its typically profitable North American market amid tariffs, higher warranty costs and other issues. It is pivoting back toward gas-powered vehicles, especially in the United States, with offerings including the Hemi V-8-powered Ram 1500.
Stellantis recently launched several important new models in the United States that it expects can help fill gaps in its lineup and quickly boost overall sales. They include the all-new hybrid Jeep Cherokee and the gas-powered Dodge Charger muscle car, both of which began hitting dealers around the start of the year. It's also hoping that reintroducing the Hemi engine in models including the Ram 1500 pickup helps grow overall volumes this year.
The automaker's U.S. market share has plunged in the last five years, from about 12.5% to 7.6% last year, according to its 2025 annual report. That makes it the sixth-largest automaker in the United States, after falling behind Honda Motor Co. Ltd. in 2024.
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