Chrysler Canada President and CEO, Reid Bigland. Click image to enlarge |
Article and photos by Paul Williams
Photo Gallery:
2008 Toronto Auto Show
Toronto, Ontario - Chrysler has been in the news regularly over the past year-and-a-half, but the topic often focuses more on corporate developments - new owners, the future of the company - than how well the company's vehicles are selling. Reid Bigland, Chrysler Canada's President and CEO thinks, there's a story that may be missed, which is that sales of Chrysler vehicles here have increased continuously, month-over-month, for the past 18-months. It's a "sales growth streak," if you will.
In fact, with 16.1 per-cent market share, Chrysler Canada is the second-highest selling vehicle manufacturer in the country.
Although this uninterrupted sales growth has occurred entirely during Mr. Bigland's tenure as President (Mr. Bigland is Canadian, a University of British Columbia graduate, and was appointed on July 1, 2006) he modestly explains that the company's sales gains are the result of a combination of factors.
"With the ownership change comes more independence," he pointed out during an interview at the 2008 Toronto. "We can focus more on the Canadian market, and move more quickly to produce what consumers want."
The strong Canadian dollar hasn't hurt, either, concedes Mr. Bigland. "Absolutely; it's worked in our favour. Pricing on Chrysler vehicles is excellent now, and we've got the right products for the times, I think, with many specially priced Canadian models targeted to our market."
Does this mean that Canadians are cheaper than Americans? Not necessarily cheap, but "value conscious," apparently.
For example, enhancing the vehicle line-up from Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, Canadian consumers can purchase several unique-to-Canada vehicles that are specially equipped and priced. The Dodge Grand Caravan "Canada Value Package" is available below the SE version (Dodge Caravan sales are up 36.5 percent.), and the new Dodge Journey "Canada Value Package" features a four-cylinder version with seven-passenger seating.
Another Canada-only model, the Jeep Grand Cherokee North diesel, bundles 17-inch aluminum wheels with all-terrain tires, heated seats, and keyless entry; and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited offers a special Canadian package with two-tone leather seats and chrome accents.
In fact, the success of the Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel here was quick in coming, and another reflection of the Canadian market's willingness to embrace modern diesel technology. Introduced mid-way through 2007, this vehicle now represents 50% of Grand Cherokee sales in Canada. Returning 12.0/9.0 litres per 100 kilometers, city/highway, it is the most fuel efficient Grand Cherokee available, but matches the acceleration and towing performance of the HEMI-V8 equipped Grand Cherokee.
Snakeskin Green Dodge Viper. Click image to enlarge |
At the 2008 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Chrysler was showing off its "Snakeskin Green" Dodge Viper and "Hemi Orange" Dodge Challenger, perhaps giving the impression that the company is all about hot rods and burning rubber, as opposed to fuel efficiency and sustainable technologies.
"That's for the people coming to the show," suggested Mr. Bigland in reference to the Viper and Challenger. "They want to see something exciting, and we've got that. But as far as fuel efficiency goes, soon we're introducing a Dodge Aspen Hybrid and a Ram Diesel, and our compacts are selling well."
Specifically, the company's trio of comparatively fuel efficient compacts, the Jeep Patriot, Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass are selling at an average of 900 vehicles each per month (January, 2008 sales). Energuide figures for the Dodge Caliber 1.8 are a competitive 8.5/6.8 L/100km, city/highway.
See the full line-up of Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep vehicles, with a full description, specifications and pricing for each model in the CanadianDriver Buyer's Guide.
