FCA Canada only sold 220 Dodge Darts in June 2015, a 79-percent year-over-year decline. Through the first six months of 2015, Dart volume is down 55 percent to only 1,979 sales, one-fifteenth the total achieved by the best-selling Honda Civic and equal to just 1.1% of the compact car market.
The Dart's market share in the United States, meanwhile, grew from 3.4 percent in the first-half of 2014 to 4.2 percent in the first half of 2015. Though no industry observer would suggest that the Dart's U.S. uptick relates purely to increased desirability and demand – and not to cash allowances and fleet-friendliness – the car's Canadian dive speaks volumes about FCA's emphasis on light trucks and SUVs north of the 49th parallel.
True, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' U.S. outpost is also heavy on "light trucks." But while 27 percent of the automaker's U.S. volume this year is derived from passenger cars, just 13 percent of their Canadian sales are generated by cars.
Yet FCA has reported more Canadian new vehicle sales this year than any other automaker, even with a car division that's lacking consequence, even with buyers unable to actually find cars (only 11 of the 634 new vehicles in stock at my three local FCA dealers are Darts; one of two local Honda stores has 126 Civics), even with their lone competitor in Canada's biggest car segment flopping.
The Dart was Canada's 25th-best-selling car at this time a year ago, but it currently ranks 46th.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.
The post Chart Of The Day: Canada Loves FCA And Small Cars, But Not The Dodge Dart appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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