Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Canada is evaluating its monthly sales reporting system in light of changes announced July 26 by FCA in the United States that would make the company more "transparent."
The fallout isn't pretty, as FCA said its 75-month U.S. sales streak actually ended nearly three years sooner at 40 months, in September 2013.
FCA Canada followed by saying that any reporting changes will be reflected within a month.
"We are evaluating Canada and will make any needed changes with August sales (reported in September)," said FCA Canada Communications Manager LouAnn Gosselin.
The revelation followed a report by Automotive News on an internal investigation conducted by FCA in 2015 that found the automaker had 5,000-6,000 reported sales which had later been unwound (not completed).
FCA said in a statement the objective of the new sales reporting methodology "is to provide in FCA U.S.'s judgment the best available estimate of the number of FCA U.S. vehicles sold to end users through the end of a particular month applying a consistent and transparent methodology."
The automaker said it went back and reviewed past monthly U.S. sales reports using the new methodology. It found a three per cent monthly decline in September 2013, when it had previously reported a one per cent increase. Likewise, in August 2015, its U.S. sales would have slipped one per cent, instead of the two per cent increase it reported. And as recently as May 2016, its U.S. sales would have dropped seven per cent instead of the one per cent gain it reported.
Gosselin said figures for Canada were not available.
FCA said that its "annual sales volumes under the new methodology for each year in the 2011-'16 period are within approximately 0.7 per cent of the annual unit sales volumes previously reported."