Chrysler sales soaring

By Chelsea Turnbull

Feb 4, 2015

 

Chrysler Canada minivan sales have grown significantly over the past year and workers see it as a positive sign for the city.

As of January, 18,054 vehicles were sold compared to the 17,698 sold in January 2014, which shows a rise of two per cent. The company now has 62 months of year to year sales, ranking it as their longest growing streak.

The Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans remain top sellers for Canadian customers. On Jan. 4, 309 Dodge and Chrysler Minivans were sold, 33 per cent more than the 3,242 sold in January 2014.

Mitch Renaud, a 19 year old Windsorite, said he feels this will have a large impact for not only the city, but for him and his family as well.

“An important thing that it’s not just Chryslers, it’s all the feeder plants that supply Chryslers, like me. I work at Veltri Lakeshore, I make the rails for the minivan,” said Renaud. “It’s probably one of the most important parts to the framework on the car.”

Renaud said that Windsor is very dependent on Chrysler and their sales and that it is important for the city’s economy.

“Like, for Windsor to survive and flourish, they need Chryslers to keep the sales going. Imagine how many families are tied to the automotive business and how many parents are depending on that job, to support their families,” said Renaud.

Taylor Hollinsky, a temporary part-time worker at Chrysler who has been there for 14 months, said this may be the opposite of what many think.

“With all the new hires and planning going into Chryslers maybe the automotive industry is not destroying, but just might be helping Windsor,” said Hollinsky. “After this three month renovation, maybe sales will continue to increase even more and breathe life into our dying city.”

Chrysler has had strong sales for Jeep brand, Ram brand and minivans. The company’s positive sales numbers are seen as a good sign for many young people

Chris Glenn, a 19 year old student from St. Clair College in the Marketing and Advertising program, said he believes it is a good change for the community.

“Well it’s nice to see in terms of our local economy,” said Glenn. “Actually I think it’s excellent to see especially because Chrysler in the coming weeks will be retooling for the 2015s, and it’s nice to know that these changes they are making will affect a large number of people.”

Glenn said he hopes to see an increase in jobs in the community because of this sudden rise in sales.

“I also believe that the Windsor assembly plant is essential to our economy and seeing that much of an increase can only add more jobs to the already staggering workforce,” said Glenn. “I hope that Chrysler continues to invest in their minivan line up, even though they eventually plan to axe the Dodge Grand Caravan variant and stick with the Town & Country, I hope that does not affect their sales or workforce.”

In addition to retooling, Chrysler will be updating and remodeling the factory and creating a new line within the building these next three months.