Production of the Dodge Grand Caravan will end in May as Fiat Chrysler steers minivan buyers into its new, entry-level Chrysler Voyager, according to a forecasting company.
AutoForecast Solutions LLC, in its weekly report, said Grand Caravan production at FCA’s Windsor, Ont., assembly plant is expected to end on May 22. Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said FCA moved up the end of production to May from December, as it aims to transition Caravan buyers over to the Voyager.
“For the 2020 model year, they’ll likely run to fleet and then get the consumers to buy the new Voyager,” Fiorani said.
When asked if the automaker could confirm the forecasted end of production, FCA Canada spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin wrote in an email that the company has “not announced timing.”
FCA is resurrecting the Voyager nameplate for the 2020 model year. Production of the Voyager is expected to begin in August in Windsor alongside the higher-end Pacifica minivan and the Grand Caravan. Fiat Chrysler said in June that the Voyager would be marketed toward budget-conscious families and fleet customers, much in the same way the Grand Caravan is.
Whether the automaker can capture Grand Caravan buyers with the Voyager will be a critical question for FCA Canada as it sticks with its two-minivan strategy amid declining minivan sales. The Grand Caravan, despite not having a major redesign since 2008, still accounts for a bulk of FCA Canada’s minivan sales. According to the Automotive News Data Center, FCA Canada sold 15,943 Grand Caravans in the first half of 2019, compared with just 2,216 Pacifica minivans.
It is not known when the Voyager will be available for purchase in Canada. Gosselin told Automotive News Canada in June that the minivan would “eventually be available” and that the Grand Caravan would remain available for purchase in 2020.
In the United States, the Voyager will be offered to consumers in two trim lines: L and LX. An LXi trim line will be offered to fleet customers.
The 2020 Chrysler Voyager has a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $26,985, excluding $1,495 destination charge.
It will start arriving in U.S. dealerships this fall, according to FCA.
