Fiat Chrysler shifts Detroit-area plant from cars to trucks
Kevin Flynn, managing director of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India, said, “Fortunately, Jeep on a global sales level is predominantly petrol so we are homologating these models so we can react to the market once clarity is known”. The automaker said that it was cooperating with the federal agency and confirmed that the DoJ had also raised questions about its monthly sales reports.
In January, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said the company is shifting its production focus in North America amid consumers’ demand for trucks and SUVs.
Fiat Chrysler’s USA unit, like other automakers, records revenue when a vehicle is shipped to dealers, rather than when the auto or truck is sold to a customer.
Fiat Chrysler had previously reported 75 months of uninterrupted sales growth through June, a streak that was touted in news releases and by company executives. In other words, more cars that weren’t technically sold to anyone have been included in FCA’s monthly sales reports.
FCA issued a table that shows its US monthly auto sales since 2011 using the new methodology and what is reported earlier.
The recount also comes after a February lawsuit filed by two dealerships located in suburban Chicago that belong to the Napleton Automotive Group.
In revising its methodology on calculating the data, the company now says its streak ended in September 2013, with a year-over-year decline that month of three percent. The most recent recall is for 410,000 vehicles with potential problems with wiring harnesses, according to SlashGear. The company’s sales figures may have been artificially boosted for years. The investors will think they are buying into a company that is selling their products well but it may not tally with their returns. “Sales. That’s the bottom line, and that’s what the SEC is going to be looking at”, Henning said.
“Typically, the Justice Department will steer clear of a case until it gets indications of wrongdoing”, he said. “Just the disclosure that they’re on the scene means that there’s at least smoke, and maybe a fire”.