Not Dead Yet: Minivan Sales Rebound
Some time back we reported the impending demise of the minivan. We wrote, “Chrysler, the company that likes to take credit for the invention of the minivan, is these days watching its invention whither on the vine.” Sales were down to a fraction of the numbers attained during the height of the minivan’s phase, with factors such as the popularity of SUVs and a “mommymobile” stigma contributing to the minivan’s fall from grace.
But Chrysler, unwilling to throw in the towel and unwilling to cede the remaining minivan market to the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey, introduced a clean-sheet-of-paper minivan in April of this year. For the $2 billion investment Chrysler – I mean, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) – has been rewarded with a dramatic increase in minivan sales since April.
Not only is Chrysler’s minivan wholly new, so is the name. The Town & Country moniker has been ditched in favor of Pacifica. Although, in truth, Chrysler has used the Pacifica name in the past on a number of vehicles, just not on a minivan unless you include its use on a one-off show car in 1999.
Chrysler’s minivan sales are up, but so are sales of other minivans. Sales of minivans in general are in rebound this year, up more than 20 percent. Some of the new minivans are being sold to families who have outgrown their SUVs. Even a Cadillac Escalade, the grand behemoth of current SUVs, has less cargo space than a minivan when all seats are occupied by mom, dad, and the brood. Yet these burgeoning minivan sales are not really coming at the expense of SUVs. SUVs and crossovers, as we wrote last year, remain today’s popular mommymobiles, with suburban families packing their child seats and strollers and soccer supplies and sippy cups into the smaller interiors of the fashionable exteriors. What is suffering today is regular cars.
Chrysler has announced its intention to discontinue the Dart and 200 sedans, with no plans to replace them. Other manufacturers are watching sales of conventional passenger cars diminish as more and more SUVs and crossovers are brought to market. But while sales of traditional sedans are softening, conventional cars are likely not at risk of the extinction we thought we saw coming for minivans. What will occur is a shakeout. Some cars such as Chrysler’s duo will go away, but there will always be a place in the market for cars.
Chrysler’s new Pacifica is being advertised on television in a series of commercials featuring comedian Jim Gaffigan. Gaffigan is no one’s idea of a “hunk,” which in itself is a subtle poke at those who buy SUVs for the style statement. Much of Gaffigan’s stand-up comedy is based on matters of fatherhood, which is understandable since he is the father of five. He is perhaps ideally suited to the Chrysler gig. He embodies the minivan’s target market. 
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Photos Credit:
Jim Gaffigan:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/