Remember summer break when you were in middle school and high school, when you had three months off and all the plans in the world? And then college came along and there were internships to acquire and paychecks to work for? Taking a break can be nice, but when duty calls, taking responsibility can be even nicer.
That's why four Chrysler plants will forgo their usual two-week summer shutdowns this July in order to meet sales demand that is well above the industry average of a 10.3-percent increase compared with last April. Chrysler sales have seen a 33.4-percent increase in the same amount of time, and that means the automaker will be enhancing production in order to keep up. Typically, this break is an opportunity for Chrysler to align its inventory with consumer demand and install equipment for the production of new models.
At Fields Chrysler Jeep Dodge, we couldn't be happier about Chrysler's sales performance and response. We know that there are even bigger plans for the future since 1,800 new workers will be joining the Belvidere, Ill., plant to assist in the production of the 2013 Dodge Dart, which is already under way. Chrysler expects to have 2,000 Darts built this month and 8,000 in June. This plant represents a $700 million, 638,000-square-foot investment for the company.
If you've been waiting in Skokie for Dodge Dart news, we hope you're just as excited about the promising summer of production that lies ahead for Dodge.