Minivans were all the rage back in the 1980s, but as of July 2024, this genre of automobile is a dying breed. Or is it? Although Pacifica and Odyssey sales are down in the first six months of the year compared to H1 2023, both the Sienna and Carnival posted double-digit improvements.
Kia moved 21,083 units of the Carnival in the past six months, representing a gain of 18.3% over the 17,822 units delivered in the first half of last year. The sales release published by Toyota Motor North America for Q2 2024 and H1 2024 reveals 32,868 deliveries, which is 17.6% better than the 27,940 minivans sold back in H1 2023.
In second place, Odyssey sales dipped -0.5% from 39,466 to 39,257 units. Finally, the best-selling minivan in the United States of America comes in the form of the Pacifica. Dealers managed to move 70,882 units rather than 73,845 in the first two quarters of 2023, resulting in a -4% contraction from a year ago. Speaking of Chrysler, the sales release from Stellantis also reveals that Dodge sold a couple of Caravans.
The ancient Caravan outsold the competition back in 2019 to the tune of 122,648 units compared to 99,113 for the Odyssey. But alas, production came to a screeching halt in 2020. The Stellantis release also shows that Dodge moved a single unit of the Viper in the first half of 2024.
Now that's a proper example of a zombie car! Back when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles wasn't buddy-buddy with French colossus Groupe PSA, the folks at FCA discontinued the V10-powered brute over Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 226 safety regs. More specifically, the VX I-gen Viper had to be canned in 2017 because it could not be fitted with side curtain airbags.
Photo: Stellantis
It goes without saying that even the Pacifica is living on borrowed time. You can easily point the finger at sport utility vehicles for this increasingly evident change in customer demand. What's funny is that none other than Chrysler bears a part of the blame for the increasing popularity of the SUV with the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which sold like hotcakes from day one to the detriment of the Caravan, Voyager, and Town & Country.
The question is, why drop $36,500 (sans destination) on a Carnival instead of $36,190 on a Telluride? If you prefer Toyota, make that $37,685 from the outset for the Sienna and $39,270 for the Highlander. Considering how close minivan starting prices are to family-sized crossover starting prices, it should come as no surprise that minivans are slowly being squeezed out of the marketplace by three-row SUVs.
Telluride sold 53,700 units in the United States in the first six months of 2023, whereas Highlander and the long-wheelbase Grand Highlander moved 60,108 and 55,382 examples. The Odyssey is twinned with the three-row Pilot, which is listed by American Honda Motor with 66,283 units.
At press time, only Pacifica comes with an optional plug-in hybrid setup. The Sienna is hybrid by default, whereas the Carnival has added a hybrid option for model year 2025. The Odyssey remains internal combustion only.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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