Chrysler Canada sales down

For November 2008, Chrysler sales dropped 15.5% to 15,560 units, pushing the company to the #3 sales position for the month (all numbers in this article compensate for the number of selling days in the month). Chrysler has sold 210,702 units in Canada from January through November, edging out Ford, which saw stable sales for November, for second place. Part of Chrysler’s sales gains were due to aggressive pricing.

Jeep fell by 500 units, a hefty drop given that Jeep only sold 4,121 units in November. While Dodge sales remained fairly steady, Chrysler sales dropped to less than half of their November 2007 level. The main casualties were the 300, falling to half its November 2007 level – from 1,099 to 509 cars – and the Sebring, falling from 750 to 376. PT Cruiser went from 363 sales to just 12; from January to November 2007, over 5,400 PTs were sold in Canada.

Minivans dropped by around 18%, with the Town & Country down to a mere 257 units and Caravan at 3,050.

The Avenger, like the Sebring, took a hit, but it was not quite as severe, with a fall from 761 to 490. Caliber stayed roughly even, and 284 Challengers helped make up the shortfall; Challengers in showrooms may have helped Dodge to sell more Chargers, with 20 more sold this November (407, up from 387). Eight Vipers were also sold up across the country.

As for Dodge trucks, the new Journey helped offset falling minivan and pickup sales; a whopping 1,326 Journeys moved out of showrooms. In comparison, Dodge sold just 120 Dakotas (down 74%), 136 Durangos (down 47%), and 203 Aspens (up 48%). Nitro fell somewhat (16%) to 685 units, nearly as many as the similar Liberty (813 units), which saw a sales uptick of 24%. Finally, the Ram, Chrysler’s second biggest seller in Canada, fell 21% to 2,358 trucks.

Over at Jeep, the numbers were mixed; Commander and Grand Cherokee were down 46% and 19%, respectively, with 1087 of the pair sold. Compass was down 49% to 392. Patriot was down 35% to 763. But the Wrangler shot up by 55% to 1,066 units; and the Liberty rose, as previously noted, by 24%.

As for the imports, Chrysler sold 111 Sprinters and no Crossfires in Canada for the month.