Chrysler 200 Sales Soar Due to Redesign, Incentives

Automotive Editor

Armaan Almeida was an Automotive Editor who produced buying guides and sneak previews, in addition to publishing daily news stories and tracking monthly deals, incentives and pricing trends from Toyota, Nissan and Lexus.

, Automotive Editor - March 3, 2015

Sales from February jump 31%, representing the best sales figures yet for midsize sedan.

Out of the 452 models featured at CarsDirect, if there were ever one that needed some redesign love, it was the Chrysler 200. The old model fell well short of our expectations, and consumers seemed to agree. Earlier this morning, sales numbers proved that love was definitely in the air as the 2015 Chrysler 200 posted record-breaking numbers for the month of February. They were a solid 31% better and even beat out popular value-plays like the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu and 2015 Hyundai Sonata. But why?

Date	Chrysler 200 Sales	Chevrolet Malibu Sales	Hyundai Sonata Sales
January 2014	10,912	11,822	9,815
February 2014	12,046	17,448	11,190
March 2014	7,531	18,866	19,248
April 2014	4,204	19,944	20,495
May 2014	3,140	19,288	20,404
June 2014	7,345	16,137	23,672
July 2014	8,159	13,537	22,577
August 2014	10,810	16,346	21,092
September 2014	10,995	15,186	14,918
October 2014	11,675	11,131	15,563
November 2014	14,317	11,997	18,515
December 2014	16,229	16,817	17,924
January 2015	14,157	11,878	12,363
February 2015	15,805	13,971	13,987

Source: GoodCarBadCar.net

Redesign

Chrysler 200 Front

First and foremost, the new 200 is leaps and bounds better than the old 2014 model. The first thing that will jump out to shoppers is the redesigned exterior which looks more like a sleek 4-door coupe than a blocky sedan. The improvements also carry over into the revamped interior.

	2015 Chrysler 200	2014 Chrysler 200
Horsepower 2.4L l4	184 HP	173 HP
Horsepower 3.6L V6	295 HP	283 HP
Fuel Efficiency l4	23/36 MPG	21/30 MPG
Fuel Efficiency V6	18/29 MPG	19/29 MPG
Transmission	9-Speed Auto	4-Speed Auto
MSRP for LX Trim	$21,800	$21,795
Current Incentives	Cash Back/Low APR	N/A

But beauty's nothing without brawn, and Chrysler outfitted the 200 with two distinctively different engine options: a 2.4L 4-cylinder and a 3.3L V6, both of which produce more power and fuel efficiency than the engines found in the outgoing 2014. Moreover, the even bigger news was the introduction of a 9-speed automatic transmission and available AWD. This is surprising since the 200 is affordable, especially when you factor in the generous incentives that it normally sees.

2015 Chrysler 200 Rebates & Incentives »

Advertising

The newly-minted Fiat-Chrysler Group (FCA) gave Chrysler the capital and flexibility it needed to come out with a sedan that could actually compete with global competitors, both on the road and in ads. Bob Dylan's narration provided the backdrop to the Chrysler 200 Super Bowl Commercial which aired during the big game in early 2014.

The ad struck a cord with consumers, and helped set the cadence for what they should come to expect from the Chrysler 200: a car that's designed, engineered and built right here in the U.S. With the country on the economic mend, it was timed perfectly.

Incentives

Besides the bold new design and the ad push, incentives were a definite catalyst for the big sales numbers. February not only meant a busy Valentine's Day, but a big Presidents' Day sales push for the 200. We saw some aggressive incentives for February in the form of stackable rebates of up to $4,500 on non-LX equipped 200s (please not that we're in the process of updating March's incentives for the 200).

Chrysler 200 Rear

Should You Buy One?

If you're in the market for a family sedan, the 2015 Chrysler 200 should definitely be on the list because it offers some solid features (9-speed transmission, upscale styling) and affordable pricing. If the incentives from February carry over into March, it's safe to say that the 200 represents an exceptional value in the highly-competitive midsize sedan class.

Chrysler 200 Side