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Ram helps power Chrysler to 11% gain in May

Increasing consumer demand for Ram pickup trucks and big SUVs has helped to boost May sales for Chrysler. Ram sales were up a total of 24 percent year-over-year for the month of May. In addition, Dodge sales increased by 23 percent in May, with the standout Durango clocking a 24-percent year-over-year improvement (with an updated 2014 model in the wings, incentives are thick on the ground for 2013 inventory). Fiat and Jeep were up only a modest one percent, however, and Chrysler brand sales were down by two percent against last year's figures.
Chrysler is quite pleased overall with brand performance, saying that this May marks the company's strongest in the past six years. It was also the 38th consecutive month showing year-over-year sales gains.
Eight of the automaker's vehicles set sales records for May, as well: Jeep Wrangler and Compass, Dodge Avenger and Challenger, Fiat 500, Chrysler 200 and Ram pickups. Scroll down to read more detail in Chrysler's press release.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles targets mid-October IPO

The merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is targeting October 13 to launch its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, CEO Sergio Marchionne told reporters assembled for a meeting in Rimini, Italy.
"The most likely date for the listing in the US is October 13," Marchionne said, according to Reuters.
Marchionne is trusting that the money made in the IPO will be contribute heavily his ambitious, $64-billion five-year growth plan, which will see FCA reboot Alfa Romeo and Maserati and expand Jeep's global presence. Should the IPO fall short, though, Marchionne has confirmed that "all decision [sic] on any capital increase will be taken by the board of FCA at the end of October."

2014 Chrysler 200 to set design tone for brand

Speaking with Wards Auto at this year's Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles said that the next-generation Chrysler 200 will launch a whole new styling direction for the brand when it arrives for the 2014 model year. Gilles did not reveal any specific design cues or elements that will be found on the next 200, only saying that the new car "shares no surface language with any previous Chrysler we've ever seen."
Indeed, the current 200 isn't exactly setting the world on fire with any sort of clever, emotive design, but Gilles knows that. "The current Chryslers on the road today certainly don't reflect where we're headed," he told Wards Auto. Instead, Gilles said that "we are deviating from where we are today, completely. It's a very different feeling (and) look."
The launch of the new Chrysler 200 will officially mean the death of its Dodge Avenger counterpart, though Gilles says that the company is working on an all-new product to replace that vehicle down the road. Still, Chrysler will need a successful player in the popular midsize segment, and Gilles fully expects the new 200 to be up to the task. "I think it's going to be a beautiful and relevant vehicle."