FCA Sales Streak Stalls With Automaker's Revised Formula

CARS.COM — Facing questions on its sales reporting method, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will use a new formula to report its monthly sales, the automaker said in a press release Tuesday. Under this new methodology, the automaker’s sales gain streak, which it previously said was 75 months long, would have ended in September 2013.

Related: FCA Sales-Reporting Lawsuit Escalates to Federal Probe

FCA is under scrutiny by both the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission for its sales-reporting practices after a suburban Chicago dealership alleged in a lawsuit that FCA paid dealers to falsify monthly car sales numbers. The automaker denied the allegations.

In its press release, FCA states that the new methodology provides “the best available estimate of the number of FCA U.S. vehicles sold.” Using the new formula, FCA said the annual sales numbers for 2011-2016 are within 0.7 percent of the previously reported yearly sales numbers. FCA’s July 2016 sales report, which is due on Aug. 2, will use the new formula.

Read more on this story from our friends at the Detroit Free Press.