SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Chrysler and Ford both apparently slashed incentives by almost 20 percent year-over-year during the second quarter, according to TrueCar. The company is also predicting that each automaker will see sales climb from a year ago, although Chrysler’s surge is believed to be much more significant.

These topics and more could be on the table this morning, as both automakers are set to discuss their respective quarterly performance reports and shed some more light on how they fared during conference calls kicking off at 9 a.m. today.

Sales More Robust

Year-over-year progress could be a common theme, with Ford increasing its quarterly sales 9.3 percent to 574,228 vehicles and Chrysler seeing a 19-percent gain at 348,538 in sales. This is according to TrueCar’s analysis.

Chrysler will see particular strength in its Jeep brand, which likely increased sales 64.3 percent landing at 104,071 vehicles. The automaker’s Dodge division will have sold the most vehicles (191,195 units), improving 13.3 percent, while the Chrysler brand will likely be down 12.6 percent at 53,272 units.

TrueCar went on to predict that Ford will show growth across both its Lincoln and Ford business units, though the Ford division’s increase (15.9 percent) will be stronger than Lincoln’s (3 percent).

Breaking it down, the Ford brand’s sales are likely to reach 552,232 units, with Lincoln coming in at 21,996 sales, according to TrueCar.

Reductions in Incentives, Fleet Penetration

Both automakers could also touch on incentive reductions and fleet penetration declines during their conference calls today.

According to TrueCar, Chrysler trimmed incentives by 19.3 percent year-over-year to $2,968 per unit, with Ford dropping incentives 17.6 percent to $2,492 per unit.

As far as fleet penetration, this is apparently down for both automakers, although Ford’s drop (down 1.3 percent) is probably much more moderate than Chrysler’s (down 8.9 percent), the site noted.

By brand, Jeep’s incentives per unit are likely down 35.6 percent and its fleet penetration is likely off 1.4 percent. Chrysler is also expected to have dropped incentives by 34 percent. Its fleet penetration is estimated to be down 17.7 percent. As for Dodge, TrueCar said its incentives per unit will likely fall 3.1 percent and fleet will be down 8.3 percent.

Moving over to Ford, the Lincoln brand will show a 19.3-percent decline in per-unit incentives. However, the share of sales likely commanded by fleet will be relatively steady (up 0.2 percent), the site forecasted. 

The Ford brand, meanwhile, likely lowered incentives by 14.2 percent and saw fleet penetration fall 0.8 percent.

Days In Inventory Mixed

Next up, average days in inventory is more than likely down across the board for Ford, while Chrysler likely saw an increase in this figure.

That said, despite a year-over-year increase for the automaker from 52 days in inventory to 58, the Chrysler brand dipped from 64 to 45 days, TrueCar indicated. Dodge likely jumped from 58 to 68, and Jeep will come in at 54, up from 43, the site expected.

As for Ford, overall days in inventory is likely to come in at about 54, down from 59. By division, Lincoln looks to have decreased its days in inventory from 62 to 61, and the Ford division dropped its average from 59 to 54.

Average Transaction Prices Also Come in Mixed

When it comes to transaction prices, Chrysler will likely see a double-digit increase, while Ford, on the other hand, will see a 2.9 percent drop, according to TrueCar.

Specifically, average prices for Chrysler will come in at about $32,071 (up 11.4 percent), with Ford coming in at $33,799 (down 2.9 percent).

The Dodge brand, in particular, likely has gained a great deal, as its prices are expected come in up 16.3 percent at $32,886.

Chrysler Exec on UAW Negotiations

Moving along, in perhaps a bit of related news that the industry is watching closely, Chrysler released a statement from vice president of employee relations Al Iacobelli, who commented on UAW contract negotiations getting started Monday.

"It’s been four years since our last round of negotiations with the UAW, and since then, a lot has changed for our industry and for Chrysler," he began.

"In the time since, the nation went through a recession that was the roughest economic patch. It showed where exactly domestic automakers had to get better, part of which was mending an ‘unsustainable cost structure,’" Iacobelli noted.

"In order to revive the automotive industry, a complete and painful restructuring was needed. For Chrysler, that meant bankruptcy and implementing significant modifications that would enable a new company to emerge with the support of the United States Treasury and an alliance with FIAT. Through that process, we had to re-think our approach to business to achieve true and permanent change to our business model," he stressed. 

"We appreciate that the UAW has been engaged and supportive of the changes that have been made in order to ensure the long-term stability and profitability of the company, including the implementation of World Class Manufacturing," Iacobelli added. 

"This year…with these negotiations, we have the unique opportunity to protect and secure Chrysler Group’s future competitiveness. This includes growing jobs intelligently by keeping labor costs competitive. While the industry and Chrysler have demonstrated some improvements to date, those gains have been modest and it is imperative that we not return to an uncompetitive state," he continued. "Negotiations are all difficult, and this one is no exception. We are committed to continue to work together with the UAW to do what’s necessary to build a strong and secure Chrysler Group."