Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. automaker run by Fiat SpA, said nationwide industry sales are off 19 percent so far this month after a government purchase- incentive program ended.

“We are going to see harsh reality in September,” Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive officer of Fiat and Chrysler, said at the Frankfurt Motor Show. He described the U.S. industry results as a “disaster.” Fritz Henderson, CEO of General Motors Co., said the market is “very weak” this month.

Chrysler sales are being pinched beyond the industry decline because of a lack of cars and trucks on dealers’ lots, Peter Fong, the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker’s lead sales executive, said today in an interview. Fong, who gave the percentage decline, said Chrysler dealers currently have 83,000 vehicles on hand, about one-quarter of what they had a year ago.

“For Chrysler, our story is a lack of inventory,” he said. “It’s the lowest level that anyone can remember. I think it’s likely that car sales will bounce back next month.”

The carmaker has increased production to replenish lots and should have them restocked later this fall, Fong said.

Light-vehicle sales in the U.S. last September ran at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 12.5 million, which was the lowest since March 1993. A 19 percent decline would equate to a 10.1 million annual rate, higher than any of the first six months of 2009.

The U.S. government’s “cash-for-clunkers” incentive to trade in older gas-guzzlers for more efficient new vehicles led to a jump in sales in July to an 11.3 million rate and in August to 14.1 million, according to Bloomberg data. The program ended Aug. 24.

“It was highly stimulative, highly successful in a fairly compact period of time,” GM’s Henderson said. “Our assessment was that the payback could be sharp, but short.”

Chrysler expects to reveal in November its plan for integrating Fiat technology and building new products, Marchionne said. Among the decisions is how the Alfa Romeo brand will be sold in the U.S.

The premium brand would require Chrysler dealers to invest in expanded showrooms and only be available to a limited number of outlets, Marchionne said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Ramsey in Frankfurt at mramsey6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 16, 2009 09:05 EDT