AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler says its U.S. sales rose 20 percent in July from a year ago, its best performance for the month in nine years.

The automaker said Friday that Jeep sales surged 41 percent. That's the best July performance for the brand ever.

Chrysler Group LLC, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said Ram pickup truck sales climbed 14 percent. The Fiat, Dodge and Chrysler brands also posted sales increases for the month.

This is Chrysler's 52nd straight month of year-over-year sales gains.

Last month Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler Group announced it was recalling older-model Jeep SUVs to fix a problem with ignition switches. It has now recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles for ignition-switch problems.

NEW YORK (AP) — Target is bringing in an outsider as its CEO for the first time as the retailer fights to redefine itself to American shoppers.The Minneapolis-based company said Thursday it named PepsiCo executive Brian Cornell to the top spot, replacing Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan, who had been keeping the seat warm since May.The announcement comes three months after Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel resigned after a data breach in the run-up to the holiday shopping season last year. On Thursday, Target said Cornell’s top priorities will be to ramp up its performance and help it evolve into a retailer that incorporates online and brick-and-mortar experiences for its shoppers.