The plant will be closed for two weeks next month to offset the declining demand.
According to Lou Ann Gosselin, FCA Canada spokesperson, two of FCA’s Canadian plants will be inactive for two weeks every month “to align supply with demand,” in a statement to Automotive News Canada.
The Windsor Assembly Plant is responsible to build the Dodge Grand Caravan as well as the Chrysler Pacifica. It has been idled only twice so far this year. It did not build minivans the first two weeks of January, which is the same reason it will temporarily stop making them next month. Due to a shortage of supplies, it sat idle for one week in February.
More on the Charger & Challenger
Windsor Assembly Plant operates three shifts, six days per week and employs approximately 6,000 workers. It can produce 1,500 minivans per hour when it is fully operational. This seems to be a huge surplus of capacity, but American car buyers are obsessed with crossovers and SUVs so it’s not surprising.
It is surprising to note that Brampton Assembly Plant is also being closed. This plant builds the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. Despite these cars being very popular, sales are down at the moment.
February Chrysler 300 sales fell 32 percent and Challenger sales dropped 28 percent. The Charger also suffered with sales dropping 8 percent in February. To foster long-term success, it is a good idea to idle the plant as dealer inventories are stagnating.
The weather is warming in the Northern States, which means that car buying season will be picking up. This is especially good news for sporty models such as the Challenger which almost always see a huge sales drop in winter.