Chrysler reports record sales in early 2016

A consumer love affair with minivans and light trucks has led to record sales for FCA Canada so far in 2016.

The automaker sold 92,939 vehicles in the first four months of the year, marking the best start to a year on record. More than 30,000 of those sales came in April alone for a 10 per cent increase compared to the same month last year.

Jeep and Ram brands helped fuel the sales spike by setting April sales records, but a major boon came from the Windsor-built Dodge Grand Caravan, with a 76 per cent year-over-year sales increase.

FCA Canada's vice-president of marketing, Bill Levasseur attributes increasing Caravan sales to the quality product coming out of the Windsor Assembly Plant.

"I grew up in Windsor, so this is a moment of pride," he said. "We got a great team at our Windsor Assembly Plant. They've been building minivans for [more than] 33 years and nobody knows how to build minivans better than them.'

FCA sold 6,368 Caravans in April 2016, up from 3,618 in April 2015.

In 2015, Chrysler announced it would stop producing the Caravan, but company officials recently changed gears, saying they would make the minivan so long as there was demand.

Levasseur said the Windsor plant will continue to build the Caravan through to the end of the year. So far, there is no official plan to continue beyond 2016.

"For now we kind of have the best of both worlds," he said. "We're going to continue to build our Dodge Grand Caravan. We're going to be building that along side our all new sixth-generation Chrysler Pacifica minivan."

Meanwhile, the automaker revealed it has started shipping Chrysler Pacificas to dealers across Canada. Fewer than 25 have been shipped, so far. Nineteen of those were shipped in April.

"Over the next few weeks, you're going to start having some volume out there in the local markets," Levasseur said. "Then, as you get further away where the transportation is a little bit longer, it might take a few extra weeks beyond that."

The Chrysler Pacifica will replace the high-end Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

FCA president and CEO Sergio Marchionne is expected to be in Windsor on Friday to tour the plant where its new flagship minivan is built.

Jeep products saw a 23 per cent increase in sales in the first four months of the year, while Ram brands bumped up five per cent.

"We are off to the best sales start in our history," said Dave Buckingham, chief operating officer at FCA Canada. "We remain well-positioned to welcome the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica to Canadian showrooms in May."