Dart Misses November Sales Target; 200 Passes 200K

Sales of the closely watched Dodge Dart slipped in November amid rising inventory levels and an added third shift at the Illinois plant where the compact is built.

The Dart notched 4,489 deliveries for Chrysler, WardsAuto data shows. The highest sales month for the Dart was in October with 5,455 deliveries.

There were 25 selling days this November and year-ago.

Chrysler added a third shift this year at its Belvidere, IL, plant to accommodate forecast demand for the Dart. Inventory of 23,446 units left the Dart with a 112 days’ supply at end of October, compared with 73 for the industry overall.

Despite the Dart’s tumble, there were other bright spots in Chrysler’s November results. Overall, the auto maker delivered 121,886 vehicles last month, according to WardsAuto data.

The Chrysler 200 midsize sedan, the spotlight of the company’s heralded “Imported From Detroit” campaign, surpassed 200,000 deliveries last month since its unveiling last year. Sales of the 200 are up 49.6% so far this year from like-2011.

The Chrysler brand sold 12,130 vehicles overall in November, up 3.0%.

The Dodge Avenger midsize sedan also has been a consistent performer, with 7,132 deliveries in November and a 54.8% rise in 11-month sales year-over-year. Total Dodge-brand sales for the month stood at 20,387, up 25.2%.

November was the first full sales month for the redesigned Ram 1500 pickup, which notched 23,658 deliveries. Including the low-volume C/V cargo van, total Ram-brand sales clocked in at 24,395, up 23.5%.

Fiat continued to add to its tally in the U.S., with 3,603 units of its 500 sold in November. This month, a high-performance Abarth cabrio arrives in Fiat dealerships.

Jeep was the highest-performing Chrysler brand with 35,047 November deliveries, though that marked a 3.3% drop in volume from year-ago. Its best-performing model was the Grand Cherokee with sales of 13,619 units.

Reid Bigland, Chrysler’s head of U.S. sales, predicts strong year-end results and adds the auto maker is not concerned about the “fiscal cliff” looming in the U.S.

“We are expecting a strong December as the industry continues to recover from the East Coast hurricane and consumers continue to respond to our popular year-end ‘Big Finish’ (sales) event,” he says in a news release.

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