Segment bounces back slowly as Chrysler Pacifica sales continue to grow
Sales in the US Minivan segment rose by 2.7% to 126,145 in the first quarter of 2018, a welcome bounce-back from the 13% sales decline in 2017. Although it’s impossible to tell for sure, the segment seems to have reached a new equilibrium of around 500,000 cars a year, on par with what it was 20 years ago, but far from the almost one million sales it reached in 2005. With just the new Honda Odyssey slowly building up sales, the Chrysler Pacifica still fresh and the new Toyota Sienna around the corner, the segment looks on course to stay at this level in 2018.
Highlights:
- The ancient Dodge Grand Caravan remained comfortably at the lead of the pack, and even managed to increase its sales by 8%
- Chrysler Pacifica saw its sales rise by 30%, good enough to separate itself from the rest of the pack, but not nearly good enough to challenge for the segment lead (though, if you exclude fleet and government sales, the Pacifica is probably the bestselling car among private buyers)
Note: clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
- The two erstwhile Japanese segment leaders, Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey, finished neck and neck, a doubtless disappointing result for the new Honda, which will be hoping to pick up sales in the second quarter of the year
- Kia Sedona finds itself a distant fifth with sales down a further 41%, suggesting the model may not last long in the market
Note: clicking on the model names in legend turns the display for that model on/off; data is displayed from 1990 onwards, but starts in 1973 – access previous years using slider on bottom