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Odyssey minivan sales beating Dodge Caravan, could be industry's leader as best seller of year
By Tim Higgins
Detroit Free Press
Published on Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
DETROIT: The Dodge minivan is in jeopardy of losing its position as the best-selling minivan in America.
The Honda Odyssey has beaten the Caravan in sales for the past six months — starting before the redesigned model was launched in August — and is holding a slight lead to top the U.S. automaker's offering for best-selling minivan of the year.
At the end of November, Honda dealers had sold 158,139 Odyssey minivans in the United States this year — a 2.3 percent decline.
Dodge dealers had sold 154,824 Caravans and Grand Caravans — a 21.4 percent decline.
With combined sales of the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, Chrysler LLC still dominates the shrinking minivan market.
''If you look at purely brand names . . . Odyssey has outsold everybody else,'' said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for the Web site http://www.Edmunds.com. ''They have done a good job in trying to capture that lost business left by GM and Ford in the minivan arena by being a bit more aggressive than they used to be in terms of their incentive spending.''
Edmunds estimates Honda spent $1,510 per vehicle on minivan incentives last month, compared with $156 per minivan in November 2006.
Honda Odyssey sales were up 29 percent in October and 18 percent last month compared with the same months last year.
Dodge minivan sales, meanwhile, fell 11.6 percent in October and 6 percent in November.
Late in the summer, Chrys
ler launched thoroughly redesigned versions of the iconic family haulers, incorporating innovative features, such as swiveling middle seats, a table and family friendly satellite television.
The new features and styling by Ralph Gilles allowed the automaker to slash incentives on the new models.
It spent an estimated $2,706 per vehicle last month compared with $4,913 per vehicle in the same month a year ago, according to Edmunds.
Chrysler officials and dealers blame the decline on the elimination this model year of the short-wheel-base minivan, which dealers note tended to appeal to customers looking for a less expensive vehicle.
Chrysler is preparing to launch a new crossover utility vehicle called the Dodge Journey to replace the short-wheel-base minivan.
''In my market, the short-wheel-base minivan was a big volume piece for me. I bought every one that I could and then some, then ran out,'' said Chuck Eddy of Bob & Chuck Eddy Chrysler Dodge Jeep near Youngstown.
He's confident that Chrysler minivans will stay on top.
''We're King Kong at that,'' Eddy said. ''They'll try to pick away at us, but with this new one, we'll spread out again. They're not going to be able to run with us.''
Dealers across the country say they've seen great interest from consumers in the upscale Town & Country. Sales of the Town & Country rose nearly 10 percent last month and 26 percent in October.
Last year, Chrysler sold 160,000 Town & Country minivans and this year sold about 124,000 by the end of November. Only recent months have included the redesigned models.
''The Limiteds just took off like a house afire,'' said Bill Golling of Golling Chrysler Jeep Dodge Inc. in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. ''I think it got really hot. It's loaded with features.''
Some dealers said they've had some trouble getting inventory of the minivans since the launch but are hopeful that problems have been worked out this month.
''Whenever you go through a major changeover, at least with the domestics, there is an availability problem,'' said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at the Power Information Network, a subsidiary of J.D. Power and Associates. ''We have reason to believe there is an availability problem with the Caravan.''
Edmunds expects Grand Caravan sales to pick up in the spring. Toprak said it is too soon to pass judgment on the new minivans' launch.
''You really need to give three to six months for any redesigned vehicle to reach every market in full force. There may be some distribution issues there as well,'' he said. ''It may be a little bit too early to judge apples to apples.''
A lot was riding on the new-model minivans as they began to roll onto dealers' lots in late August.
Chrysler invented the minivan market in 1983 and has been the market leader ever since.
It's a market other competitors say is losing steam to new crossover vehicles, which look more like SUVs but get better mileage, like a minivan or wagon. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have left the minivan market. Industry minivan sales so far this year are down 19.5 percent, according to Autodata.
''The Caravan has been No. 1 for many, many years. So I suspect that we are going to see a strong push by Chrysler with the Caravan and the Town & Country in December to try to regain that No. 1 position,'' Libby of J.D. Power said.
Asked whether incentives would be boosted in an effort to keep the Dodge minivan No. 1, Darryl Jackson, Chrysler vice president of U.S. sales, would not rule it out: ''The bottom line is that we will be competitive with our payments versus the competition.''
DETROIT: The Dodge minivan is in jeopardy of losing its position as the best-selling minivan in America.
Get the full article here.
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