61% Sales Increase for Ram Helps FCA Canada Achieve Its Best Sales Month Ever in May
Despite massive sales declines for Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, Ram sales were strong enough last month to help FCA break a Canadian sales record
The “Canucks” are going crazy over trucks
Last month, Canadian car sales for Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge were down by 31%, 25%, and 9%, respectively. Nevertheless, FCA experienced its best month of sales ever in May.
So what caused this record to be achieved in the midst of such massive sales declines? Well, much like the rest of the world, Canada is growing fond of larger pickup trucks, as Canadian Ram sales were up by 61%.
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15,524 Ram vehicles were sold in Canada last month. When compared to the 9,636 Rams sold in May of 2016, this accounts for the massive 61% sales increase for the brand.
This spike in sales would appear to be a relatively recent phenomenon for the Ram brand. Until May, year-to-date sales for Ram remained stagnant in Canada, with a 0% sales increase.
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Now, year-to-date sales total 49,056 units. This makes for a 14% increase over Ram sales during the first five months of 2016.
Jeep sales in Canada were nearly down a third, with a 31% decrease. The vehicle with the largest sales decline was the Jeep Patriot at a 66% decrease, with the Jeep Cherokee following closely behind with a sales decline of 64%.
Jeep’s luck isn’t currently any better in Canada than it is in the U.S.
In a bit of good news for the Jeep brand, Canadian sales for the Jeep Grand Cherokee were up by 22% last month. Year-to-date, the Grand Cherokee is the only Jeep vehicle to experience sales growth in Canada.
While the Chrysler 300 struggles to keep sales up in the United States, it found success last month in Canada. The sedan model had a total of 1,150 units sold and a sales increase of 45%.
There’s hope for Chrysler’s signature sedan in Canada
Another FCA sedan, the Dodge Charger, is also performing well in Canada. Dodge Charger sales were up an incredible 305% in Canada last month and up 46% year-to-date.
However, the elimination of the Chrysler 200 has caused substantial sales declines for the Chrysler nameplate. The story is similar for the recently-cancelled Dodge Dart.
Dodge’s decision to ditch the Dart is ultimately causing some backlash
At the end of the month, FCA sold 33,186 vehicles in Canada. Compared to the 31,705 vehicles sold in May of 2016, this accounts for a 5% sales increase, not a huge amount, but enough to secure FCA Canada its best-ever month of sales.
As for the rest of 2017, FCA Canada has experienced practically no change in year-to-date sales, with only a slight sales deficit and a 0% sales decrease. You can see the results from FCA Canada’s month of sales in the chart below:
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