DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler's U.S. sales jumped 27 percent in September, boosted by strong demand for new models of car and trucks.
Chrysler was the first automaker to report sales on Monday and others will follow later. Overall industry sales are expected to have risen around 10 percent from last September to more than 1 million cars and trucks.
Chrysler sold 127,334 vehicles, including 8,709 of its recently launched Chrysler 200 sedan and 2,773 of its new Fiat 500 small car.
Jeeps also did well. Sales of the Jeep Compass more than tripled, while Wrangler sales surged 47 percent. Demand for the Dodge Ram was also strong.
The company's overall increase included a 50 percent jump in retail sales, which exclude fleet sales to customers such as rental car companies.
The Labor Day holiday likely gave industrywide sales a boost. So did Hurricane Irene, which may have pushed some sales from August into September.
September's sales pace is expected to be the strongest since before Japan's earthquake in March. That's partly because supplies of cars at Toyota and Honda have nearly returned to normal.
Toyota and Honda sales will still be down, but not by as much as they were earlier this summer when the earthquake hit the companies' supply chains and caused shortages of some popular models.
Auto pricing site TrueCar.com predicts sales at General Motors and Hyundai will rise 20 percent or more from last September.