Fiat-Chrysler has released its sales totals for 2019, and the numbers are down again for a Windsor-built model.
FCA Canada released its fourth-quarter 2019 and year-end sales figures Friday. On the whole, FCA Canada had a 7.5 per cent increase over the same period in 2018. For the entire year, the company sold 223,101 vehicles in Canada, just a 0.8 per cent drop from all of 2018.
The news is not so rosy for the Pacifica minivan, built at Windsor Assembly. According to FCA Canada, 609 Pacificas were sold in Canada in the fourth quarter, a nine per cent fall. Sales for the minivan took a 38 per cent slide for the whole year, with 3,731 models being driven off dealer lots.
However, the decline has slowed for the Pacifica in Canada, as sales for the vehicle had taken a 68 per cent hit in fourth-quarter 2018.
Sales of the minivan are more encouraging in the U.S. In the fourth quarter of 2019, U.S. sales of the Pacifica were up three per cent to 27,481. Yearly American sales were down 17 per cent in 2019.
The automaker, whose Canadian headquarters is in Windsor, is touting robust sales of its Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee models. The Wrangler set both fourth-quarter and yearly sales records, and the Grand Cherokee also set a new annual sales record. The Dodge Ram pickup truck surpassed 100,000 units sold for its second-best year ever recorded.
"The fourth quarter and full-year sales results for 2019 reinforce the particular strengths of our Ram and Jeep brands," said FCA Canada President and CEO Reid Bigland. "It’s our focus on building great products that have delivered not only Ram brand’s second-best sales year on record but also the best year ever for Jeep products like the legendary Wrangler and Grand Cherokee."