48.5 percent of Chrysler brand sales between September 2006 and February 2007 were to fleets, according to a new report by trade publication Automotive News. That’s an increase of nearly 10 percent from the 38.9 percent recorded between September 2005 and February 2006.
A large portion of fleet sales are to rental companies — a stigma that has harmed public perception of vehicles like the Chrysler Sebring.
Fleet sales to corporations like Wal-Mart and the postal service can be profitable, says Auto News. But rental fleet sales to companies like Hertz and Avis struggle to break even.
GM’s Pontiac division trailed Chrysler at a close 44.9 percent. The good news, however, is this figure is actually slightly lower than the previous year’s 46.2 percent. GM’s Buick brand also dropped to just 18.1 percent fleet sales — down significantly from 31.6 percent. Unfortunately, Saturn reported an increase in fleet sales to 22.8 percent, up from 16.1 percent.
Dodge and Jeep reported totals of 32.1 and 21.8 percent — both virtually unchanged from last year. The Ford brand was also unchanged at 33.9 percent.
