Sales of American Minivans in Slump

Everyone knows that sales of big sport utility vehicles are falling forlogical reasons. They’re expensive, thirsty and altogether unnecessary for suburban and urban life. This segment might be going out of style for good, but there’s another important segment that’s dropping in sales just as quickly: minivans. Since Chrysler Group jump-started the minivan craze back in 1984 with its Caravan and Voyager models, the one-box people-mover has been a staple of family life. Few vehicles come close to offering their room, cargo space, versatility and when not loaded to the gills with DVD rear entertainment systems and other toys, affordability. Nevertheless, their popularity is waning, with sales falling faster than anyone had anticipated.

To kick off the new year, Automotive News writer Rick Kranzput together a picture as to how bad the situation is. At the time of writing it was a well-known fact that sales of American minivans were down as opposed to their Japanese and Korean competitors, but the report essentially classifies the situation for the big three as dire. Kranz reveals that within the nine month period from January through October of this past year fleet sales accounted for the bulk of minivan sales from the domestic players. The figures are pretty scary. Ford sold 65-percent of its Freestar minivans to fleets, while Chevrolet’s Uplander came a close second with 62-percent. Chrysler Group’s sales were better at 40-percent, but that’s not exactly a position to be bragging about. To compare, fleet sales of Honda’s Odyssey minivan made up a mere 1-percent of total sales.

Not too long ago, Ford announced that its Freestar and its brother, the Mercury Monterey were destined for the history books, leaving the American division of Ford Motor Company without a minivan. They followed through on that promise by choosing not to resume production earlier this week after a temporary hiatus that started in November (it was to be built throughout 2007), clearing out the Oakville production facility for the promising new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers. Grim rumors hang over the heads of GM’s U-Platform minivans too (Uplander, Terraza, Relay and Montana SV6). The Saturn variant has already ended production, while the Buick and Pontiac versions will be ending in the not too distant future. GM will be closing the Doraville assembly plant in 2008; whether or not it moves production of the Uplander to another location is unknown, but unlikely.

Without minivans in their future, GM and Ford are fulfilling their needs to make family haulers by building new crossover vehicles. The Edge and MKX will be joined by a large crossover called the Fairlane, while GM is banking on sales of 130,000+ units of its new GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave large crossovers. The only positive news on the minivan front comes from Chrysler Group, which is unveiling the new generation of Caravan and Town & Country minivans at this year’s Detroit auto show. Stay tuned for a preview of this all-new vehicle in the coming days.