DFP: Dodge Caravan still the leader in minivan sales
Dodge Caravan still the leader in minivan sales
June 23, 2004
FREE PRESS STAFF
The Dodge Caravan continues to lead the U.S. minivan market, despite the rapid rise of the Toyota Sienna.
In May, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group sold 25,695 of the minivans in the United States, an increase of 7.6 percent from May 2003, according to the research firm Autodata Corp.
An article in Tuesday's Free Press Business section failed to mention that the Caravan was the industry's top seller in May.
Chrysler pioneered the minivan segment in 1984 and still commands a 34-percent share of the market, but Toyota and other Asian automakers have made inroads in recent years.
The rapidly growing Toyota Sienna posted May sales of 16,273, an increase of 77.4 percent from the previous May. The Sienna hit showrooms in March 2003.
From January through May of this year, the Caravan was the top-selling minivan with 105,715 sold. However, that number was down 4.3 percent from the same period in 2003, according to Autodata. Sales of Chrysler's Town & Country minivan were down 7.5 percent in that period.
Toyota sold 72,621 Siennas, an increase of 119.6 percent, from January through May, compared with the same period in 2003.
A major part of Chrysler's strategy to retain its leadership in the segment is a new seating system for its minivans. In March, the automaker launched 2005 minivans that feature second- and third-row seats that fold into the floor. The Stow 'n Go seats also offer extra storage compartments when not folded down. The system is available on the Dodge Grand Caravan and the long-wheelbase version of the Chrysler Town & Country.
Currently Stow 'n Go models are made only in Windsor. Chrysler recently announced it would invest $113 million to equip its St. Louis South assembly plant to produce Stow 'n Go models.
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