Jeep sales in Europe up by 62% in ’11

Jeep brand sales shot up nearly 62 percent in Europe last year, a good sign for Chrysler Group LLC as it works to turn the American icon into a global brand.

The automaker announced this week that sales jumped 117.6 percent in Italy, 71.7 percent in France, 124 percent in Germany, and 21.2 percent in Spain. Chrysler did not give a breakdown of individual models or include sales volumes.

According to the automaker, overall auto sales declined 1.4 percent across the 27-member states of the European Union and the four European Free Trade Association countries.

Jeep builds its Liberty and Wrangler models in Toledo.

Jeep sales were up 44 percent in the United States and 41 percent globally last year. Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne recently said Jeep is the only brand across Chrysler and Fiat SpA that is truly global.