Chrysler aims to sell over 800k Jeeps in 2013

Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said the company's US unit Chrysler Group LLC aimed to sell over 800,000 Jeeps worldwide in 2013, setting a new high mark for the sports utility brand.

"Jeep's international development is one of the strengths of the group now," he told journalists at the Geneva car show.

"Last year we sold more than 700,000 Jeeps and this year we're aiming to sell more than 800,000. With the new Cherokee coming out in May we'll be in the largest (vehicle) segment in the US, and that's important."

Jeep's 2012 sales of 701,626, up 19 percent, topped the previous global high sales mark of 675,494 set in 1999.

Among Chrysler's four main brands, Jeep is the one that has the most global reach.

Sales in Asia rose 94 percent in 2012, they were up 29 percent in Europe and gained 18 percent in Latin America. Jeep's sales were up 13 percent in the United States at 474,131.

In the United States, Chrysler's top-selling brand last year was Dodge, which sold 825,917 vehicles, up 16.5 percent.