The Auto Writer

Old Meets New: 26 years of minivan building has yielded 12 million Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth models. Along with the Ram truck, Chrysler's minivans are a money maker for the automaker.

The twin pillars holding up Chrysler these days are its burly Ram truck line and time honored minivans. That may not sound like much, but when you’re remaking yourself post-bankruptcy and lacking fresh product for consumption, you have to see what works. Pickup trucks remain popular and, surprisingly, the minivan market has bottomed out and stabilized giving industry leader Chrysler a chance to promote one of its chief money makers in the years ahead.

Still Leading The Market

Through September, Chrysler has sold more than 125,000 minivans and still controls 40% of the market with its Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan models. The Honda Odyssey (now the best selling name plate) and Toyota Sienna have made significant in-roads and are considered to have higher quality ratings than the Chrysler products, but Chrysler is holding its own and looking to gain sales.

After a horrible summer when Chrysler filed for bankruptcy and shut down production in order to reduce inventory and slash expenses, the sales slide has stopped while minivan demand has risen. Indeed, in September Chrysler began to build minivans for overseas markets, equipping some with right hand drive and adding diesel engines (2.8L CRD).

Overseas Market Gains

Outside of North America the “Chrysler Grand Voyager” is available in more than eighty countries, with 21,513 units sold abroad in 2008 alone. To date, more than 12 million Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth (Voyager) minivans have been built, with the Windsor, Ontario factory producing today’s models and is currently the only Chrysler plant where all three shifts are in operation.

According to The Detroit News, minivans will continue to hold three to four percent of the car market through 2016, as demand for crossovers continues to rise while SUV sales slide. Fortunately for Chrysler, no new minivans are entering the market this year, although Ford will lead the charge with the C-MAX in 2011, a mini minivan from Europe. Around that same time, GM will roll out the Chevrolet Orlando, a mini minivan based on the Chevy Cruze platform.

Smaller Chrysler Vans

Down the line, Chrysler will likely produce a smaller van to compete in the smaller van segment, using a Fiat platform to underpin the body. For now, Chrysler and Dodge dealers will need to work diligently to market what they have, giving the edge to Dodge which has both the Grand Caravan and its line of Ram pickup trucks to draw crowds and to bolster company sales.