Chrysler says December sales up 1% over 2011

Chrysler Canada reported its 37th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth in December as the automaker closed out a strong year.

Chrysler said Thursday that it sold 14,756 vehicles in December, up one per cent from the 14,628 vehicles it sold in December 2011.

Meanwhile, sales for all of 2012 rose six per cent to 243,845 vehicles from 230,992 in 2011.

Chrysler credited strong passenger car sales for much of its success, especially in December when sales in that segment increased 103 per cent compared with a year ago to 2,827 vehicles from 1,394. For the full year, passenger car sales were up 33 per cent at 42,509 vehicles.

"2012 marked Chrysler Canada's best retail sales results since the year 2000," Chrysler Canada president and CEO Reid Bigland said in announcing the results.

"Our investment in fuel-efficient new vehicles and powertrains has propelled us to be the No. 2 seller of vehicles in Canada in 2012," added Bigland, who said he expected 2013 to be another good year.

Kia Canada Inc. also ended 2012 with a strong December, as sales rose 15.8 per cent to 3,960 vehicles.

That drove full-year sales of Kia vehicles to 77,800, a record for the company since it set up in Canada 13 years ago and a 19.5 per cent increase over 2011 sales.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Canada also closed out a strong year with record December sales of 3,777 new cars and light trucks, a figure six per cent higher than in 2011.

For the full year, Volkswagen said sales totalled 59,132, beating last year's record sales 52,604 by more than 12 per cent.

"This is quite a significant milestone," said John White, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group Canada, who noted that the sales growth was double that of the industry as a whole.