More worryingly, Fiat 500 sales in the U.S. stalled last month, with 3,106 units being delivered to customers, compared to 3,038 units during July. The 500 has been on sale in the U.S. since March and is now on a total 11,088 units for the year so far which is likely to leave the brand someway short of its 2011 full year sales target. However the long-awaited Stateside relaunch has been badly executed in almost every area and more time should see sales volumes rising.

The Chrysler brand put a very difficult first half of the year behind it to post a 25 percent year-on-year gain in August, driven entirely by the refreshed 200/Sebring, which more than doubled its sales to 10,861 units. The facelifted 300 continues to lag last year's performance, as does the refreshed Town & Country. In leading volume terms Dodge's Grand Caravan was up by almost a third to 12,172 units in August while for Ram its key pick-up truck was up 12 percent to 21,243 units.

Chrysler Group’s car sales increased 23 percent in August, while the group’s pick-up truck sales were up 33 percent compared with the same month a year ago. Chrysler Group finished the month with a 59-day supply of inventory (294,347 units). U.S. industry sales figures for August are projected at an estimated 12.3 million SAAR.