FCA to Dealers: Better Stock Up on Grand Caravans Now
Chrysler’s minivans have been a never-ending beacon of purity and goodness for over thirty years. Less so lately, but the segment remains an important part of the FCA lineup. Intended to replace both the Chrysler and Dodge minivans, the Pacifica did not outsell either at launch. While Pacifica deliveries eventually eclipsed the Town & Country, it was really only due to the venerable model’s extermination. Meanwhile, Dodge’s Grand Caravan continues as the stronger seller and remains a popular option for rental fleets.
This has convinced Fiat Chrysler to extended the Caravan’s death date more than once, but it won’t last forever. In fact, it’s about to suffer a sort of prelude to non-existence as production will go on an extended hiatus in mid-August and won’t resume until December, when the 2018 models appear.
Why FCA is taking this course of action is unknown. The automaker entered June with a scant 22-day supply of Grand Caravans, accounting for a 11,967-unit inventory. That’s by far the lowest surplus of any of FCA’s models and far below the typical industry average. However, dealers reported to Automotive News that the manufacturer recently advised them to order enough minivans this month to last them through December. Orders for 2018 are supposed to begin in October but deliveries won’t resume until January.
Dealers were also informed that only the two lowest Grand Caravan trims will be available through August — the $27,090 SE and the $29,790 SE Plus.
There has been no word of exactly what is taking place at Windsor Assembly from either FCA or labor union Unifor. However, one might hazard a guess that the manufacturer is either facing logistical problems with suppliers due to the uncertain timeline surrounding the older minivan’s demise or — more likely — trying to nudge potential customers over to the Pacifica after deciding to hand over the majority of 2017’s Caravans to rental companies.
You’re welcome to speculate.
[Image: FCA]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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If TTAC were around in the mid-'90s when Buick and Olds were still turning out cheap popular A-body sedans that directly competed with their higher margin GM10s, I wonder if the B&B would have said the same thing then that they do now about the GC.
A low-mile GC is definitely in the running for a family vehicle for me in the next year or so. They're still a bit of a mixed bag, but mechanically largely sorted now. My brother's friend has 150k fairly hard miles (mobile diagnostics in Staten Island) on a '12-'13ish Grand Caravan CV, still running great. Conversely we had a TTAC contributor whose 12k mile Town and Country blew its transmission up, and my favorite youtube repair channel always has a steady stream of fairly new GCs with a smattering of issues. A worn out balljoint there, leaking rear AC evaporator there, etc. Pricewise, I could get a one year old, possibly certified Grand Caravan GT with less than 30k miles for the same price as a 2 year old Sienna LE with cloth (read:stain prone) seats. I don't doubt that the Sienna would retain value much better and would statistically have fewer issues, but the Caravan definitely makes a strong value-argument for itself.