The rise of the $50000 minivan - Fortune
The plant is being retooled to build an all-new version of the upscale Chrysler Town and Country van, which goes on sale next year as a 2017 model. But it will no longer be assembling the popular-priced sibling, the Dodge Grand Caravan, which will be discontinued after the 2015 model year. The demise of the Caravan, which follows the cancellation of the Plymouth Grand Voyager in 2000, represents the effective end of a vehicle style that endeared itself to Americans for three decades: the economical family hauler. In fact, it is moving upscale to richer price points. The Grand Caravan stickers at $21,395. while the 2015 Town & Country starts more than $8,000 higher, at $29,995. The two vans are nearly identical mechanically, but the Chrysler has more standard equipment and higher quality finishes. The move upmarket comes as no surprise to industry analysts, who say that Chrysler is simply responding to customer trends. com: “Just like the buyers of full-size pickup trucks, consumers buy minivans for a specific purpose and choose their vehicles very carefully. I wouldn’t expect a huge number of customers to demand pricey fully-contented minivans, but a market does exist. As Chrysler explains, it is discontinuing the Grand Caravan because it wasn’t making enough money, especially since two-thirds of them were going to fleet sales. Source: fortune.com
