FCA Canada CEO: Reports Of The Grand Caravan's Demise Are Exaggerated

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Although the Chrysler Town & Country will be FCA’s main minivan nameplate going forward, the Dodge Grand Caravan will stick around longer than many people have expected.

Speaking to the Windsor Star, FCA Canada CEO Reig Bigland said that the Grand Caravan would continue to be produced past the introduction of the new Town & Country, stating

“The Dodge Grand Caravan is still here, it’s going to be here throughout all of 2015, 2016…I’m not going to give any time frame, but at the launch of the next-generation Town and Country we will continue to have the Grand Caravan and I have not speculated as to when or even if the Dodge Grand Caravan will go away,”

Previous comments by FCA boss Sergio Marchionne suggest that the old model Grand Caravan will disappear by 2017, as regulatory concerns will make it impossible to sell in North America. The strategy of running two different vans on two different platforms has been something that hasn’t been explored in the automotive media.

If this is indeed the case, then it would allow FCA to sell the all-new minivan with the latest technology at a more premium price point while retaining the volume that comes from selling both vans. Both vans would ostensibly be built at the Windsor, Ontario plant, with a new flexible architecture eventually accommodating an all-new crossover vehicle built on that platform.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Billyjoejimbob Billyjoejimbob on Mar 06, 2015

    So if I read this correctly, when the Chrysler minivans get a new body style, the Dodge version won't get it but will continue production on the old platform? Interesting, that could work. Would be like if when the new for '82 GM F-Bodies came they could have given Camaro the new style but let the Firebird soldier on with the old '70 to '81 style, bucket lights wouldn't then exist on on F-Body, Burt Reynolds would have driven a screaming chicken adorned T/A named KITT, David Hasselhoff would be a nobody, Baywatch would never have existed and Pontiac still might. These Fiat guys are onto something here.

  • 86er 86er on Mar 06, 2015

    Sounds like some reassuring words from Reid to calm panicky dealers.

  • PentastarPride PentastarPride on Mar 06, 2015

    This is good news! The Grand Caravan is just as much an American staple as the Mustang, the Suburban, the Charger and so on. Hopefully the refresh in 2016 will still maintain the great looks Chrysler is generally known for. The concept Town and Country (or 700c) looks like an Acura, but worse.

  • Rudiger Rudiger on Mar 07, 2015

    This sounds a lot like the Saturn Vue/Chevrolet Captiva Sport/Equinox situation over at GM. Marchionne is cleverly hedging his bets with the upcoming, brand-new, more expensive Town & Country by keeping the cheaper Grand Caravan in production where it will likely continue being a staple of rental (but not commercial) fleets and Canadian consumption. The commercial fleets will be switching over to the Promaster City (aka Fiat Doblo) with the demise of the Ram C/V which was based on the Grand Caravan. And since there won't be a Grand Caravan version of the new Town & Country, they won't even have to mess around with adding a 'Classic' tag to it.

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