NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW: Chrysler poised to overtake Ford

Chrysler to Pass Ford in 2007?

According to the Detroit Free Press article linked below, DaimlerChrysler appears to be on track to pass Ford as the #2 automaker in North America in 2007.

Some interesting stats from the article:

The revival of Chrysler's Jeep brand after a five-year slump is a key factor prompting Chrysler to boost capacity and add third shifts at existing U.S. and Canadian plants, just as Ford prepares to shrink itself by announcing on Jan. 23 a wave of plant closures and elimination of up to 30,000 jobs.

The result: Chrysler's annual capacity will grow 15% to around 3.7 million vehicles, while Ford's expected closure of 10 to 13 plants will cut capacity by 25% to bring it in line with its North American sales volume of about 3.3 million vehicles last year.

and

Chrysler's three brands -- Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep -- sold 2.53 million cars and trucks in the United States last year, up 4% from 2004; Ford sales dropped 5% to 3.15 million units.

While Ford sold about 600,000 more vehicles in the United States than Chrysler in 2005, the gap between the two has been closing rapidly.

In 2000, for example, Ford sold almost 1.5 million more vehicles than Chrysler. And in 1990, Ford sales were 95% higher than Chrysler's -- 3.3 million to 1.7 million. Now Ford's lead is about 17% and shrinking.

Chrysler, in contrast to GM and Ford, has posted sales gains the past two years. And although much of the credit for that has gone to the stylish Chrysler 300 sedan, it was Jeep that contributed half of the company's 2005 sales gain.

NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW: Chrysler poised to overtake Ford