Jeep CEO enacts turnaround plan after significant sales declines

DETROIT — Stellantis‘ Jeep brand is well known for scaling tough terrains, but its latest challenge of achieving 1 million vehicle sales domestically by 2027 will be a steep hill to climb.

Jeep, a coveted brand in the automotive industry, has been in a U.S. sales rut that has included five years of annual sales declines, with 2024 on pace to potentially become the sixth.

Nonetheless, Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa believes the brand’s worst days are behind it and it’s still possible to achieve the 1 million sales target. The company is executing a turnaround plan for the quintessential American SUV brand that he says is already beginning to pay dividends following a 9% sales decline in the U.S. during the first six months of the year.

The plan has included lowering pricing across its lineup, including on high-volume models such as the Jeep Compass and Grand Cherokee SUVs; rolling out special offers such as incentives or 0% financing; and increasing spending on marketing and advertising, Filosa said. It also will include an upcoming roadshow with dealers to address additional problems and concerns.

Such actions can eat into profits, but the brand’s average transaction prices have skyrocketed from less than $40,000 in 2020 to north of $50,000 this year, according to Cox Automotive. Jeep’s average transaction price has been above the industry average since 2021, Cox reports.

“The good thing is that the actions we implemented in the previous months, they are also resulting in important growth as well in the U.S.” Filosa told CNBC during a virtual interview Monday.

Filosa’s comments were made a day before the chairman of the Stellantis National Dealer Council penned a scathing open letter targeting Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares over the company’s sales losses and other business decisions.

Stellantis sold more than 1.5 million vehicles last year in the U.S., a roughly 1% decline from 2022. That compared with an industry increase of 13% in 2023.