Pacifica's U.S. sales a boost for Stellantis in tough first quarter
The Windsor-built Pacifica minivan was one of Stellantis's bright spots in an overall down first-quarter sales report released Wednesday.
While Stellantis's overall sales dipped 10 per cent in the U.S. to 332,540 vehicles, Pacifica sales jumped 15 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Americans purchased 33,114 Pacificas with plug-in hybrid sales soaring 111 per cent. PHEV sales represented 22 per cent or 7,320 vehicles of all Pacificas sold in the U.S.
Stellantis enjoyed an 82 per cent spike in overall PHEV sales overall with Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Dodge Hornet R/T and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid holding down four of the five top-selling PHEV spots in the U.S.
Canadian sales of the Pacifica were down 40 per cent in the quarter compared to 2023 with 782 Pacificas sold.
FCA Canada's overall sales were down 20 per cent. The company sold 32,197 vehicles in the first quarter with PHEV sales growing by 12 per cent.
“We are coming off a quarter of making headlines, where the made-in-canada, all-electric 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona muscle car was revealed, and our first BEVS, the 2024 Fiat 500e, are in transit to customers,” said Stellantis-canada president Jeff Hines.
“Elements of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan are coming to market, and our dealer network is excited to show Canadian customers what's new and what's next.”
Though production of the Charger and Challenger ceased in December in Brampton, Stellantis sold 10,660 Chargers and 9,737 Challengers in the U.S. There were combined Canadian sales of the two models of just over 1,100 vehicles.
Stellantis is putting the Challenger nameplate on the shelf for now and will only produce the Charger in Windsor when it begins to ramp up production of the new model in mid-june.
The sales news was better for Ford, which enjoyed an overall 6.8 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Ford, which has two engine plants in Windsor, sold 508,083 vehicles in the past three months.
Many of those Windsor-built engines go into the company's popular F-series trucks, which saw a 10 per cent overall decline to 152,943 vehicles.
However, the Super Duty truck series jumped by 23 per cent in the quarter.
Those overall numbers are expected to climb in the next quarter with Ford beginning sales in March of the F-150.
“The new F-150 will be a big play for us across gas, hybrid and electric vehicle segments of our business,” said Andrew Frick, president, Ford Blue.
“With the new F-150 and allnew Ranger sales beginning in March along with the strong performance of our all-new Lincoln Nautilus and Nautilus Hybrid, we're in a strong position to capitalize and grow as we move through 2024.
“From gas engines to hybrids to electric vehicles, we offer our customers more choices.”
Ford enjoyed a surge in sales of its electric and hybrid vehicle offerings.
The company has put an increased emphasis on hybridization and it paid off with a 42 per cent increase in that sector (28,421).
Ford sold a record 38,421 electric vehicles, which was an increase of 86 per cent, but also announced Thursday it was slowing the rollout of some new EV products.
The company has pushed back production at its Oakville Assembly Plant of a new three-row EV by two years to 2027. The company also postponed by one-year the introduction of another electric pickup truck to 2026.
Ford said it still plans to begin the $1.8-billion overhaul of the Oakville plant beginning in the second quarter of 2024 despite the production delays, but the postponement will allow the company to get a better handle on the pace of the transition to EVS.
The company is working with Unifor to mitigate the economic effects on its 3,200 member workforce, and Ford chief executive Jim Farley confirmed the firm's commitment to Canadian production.
The decision to postpone the introduction of the two new models will have no effect on production at Ford's two Windsor engine plants. Those plants produce internal combustion engines.
General Motors, which has previously announced it was also slowing its EV transition and increasing its hybrid offerings, saw sales decline by 1.5 per cent overall in the U.S. to 565,098 vehicles.
However, sales of full-sized Silverado pickups, which are also produced in Oshawa, rose 2.4 per cent. Silverados accounted for 129,987 of the company's 197,000 truck sales in the quarter.
The other two automakers based in Ontario, Toyota and Honda, both enjoyed strong sales increases.
Toyota sales rose 20.3 per cent to 565,098 vehicles while Honda was up 17 per cent to 333,824.