Jeep sold more than 1 million vehicles worldwide last year, a huge increase from 2013 and the brand’s best year ever. Nearly half of those vehicles were built in Toledo at the company’s Toledo Assembly Complex.

Last year was the fifth consecutive year of improving sales for Jeep, which has taken full advantage of a recovering U.S. economy and a growing appetite for sport utility vehicles the world over.

It also has benefited from a renewed focus on growing the brand outside North America.

The strategy seems to be paying off. Jeep is growing slightly faster in the United States, but not by much.

Officials with Jeep parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Monday that Jeep sales were up 41 percent in the United States to 692,348. On Tuesday, Fiat Chrysler said sales outside the United States rose 35 percent to 324,671.

That was enough to push total sales to just over 1 million vehicles, making good on an ambitious promise that FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne made early last year.

One of the primary reasons sales soared so high in 2014 was the addition of the Jeep Cherokee.

In its first full year on the market, the Toledo-built Cherokee sold a global total of 236,289 units. About 24 percent of those vehicles were shipped outside the United States.

But it wasn’t all about the Cherokee.

“While we are especially pleased with the way the new Jeep Cherokee is resonating in the marketplace, the fact is that every vehicle in the Jeep lineup recorded significant worldwide sales gains,” said Mike Manley, Jeep’s chief executive officer.

Sales of the Wrangler, the other Toledo-built Jeep, were up 11 percent to a record 234,579. A quarter of those were shipped outside the United States.

Together, the two vehicles accounted for about 46 percent of all Jeeps sold in 2014.

Looking ahead to this year, Jeep figures to keep that momentum going and move to the next step of expanding the brand.

“While achieving 1 million vehicle sales in 2014 was certainly a milestone, 2015 will be a transformational year in the globalization of the brand, as we begin local manufacturing in Brazil and return to local manufacturing in China after an absence of nearly a decade,” Mr. Manley said.

Jeep officials have said vehicles built in South America and Asia will not be sold in the United States.

An Italian-built Jeep will be coming here, though. The new subcompact Jeep Renegade will begin arriving in dealerships soon.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134 or on Twitter @BladeAutoWriter.

First Published January 7, 2015, 5:00 a.m.