Not the answer you expected?
Yes, Americans still buy more SUVs than cars and trucks combined. But in the second quarter of 2021, the fastest-selling segment of the automotive market was the one with the most built-in vacuum cleaners and rear-seat-viewing mirrors.
Automakers measure their supply of available cars in a measure they call days of inventory – how long it would take them to sell out of a particular model of car if they didn’t build any more of them. All through 2021, inventories have seen record lows.
At the beginning of July, the nationwide average stood at 29 days. That shows astonishing demand for new cars. Twice that number used to be considered a strong market.
For minivans, the number is under 20. For some models, it’s in the single digits. As a segment of the market, minivans were in shorter supply than any other type of car.
That’s partially due to manufacturing struggles. A worldwide shortage of microchips has hobbled car production globally. Stellantis (parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, and others) has been forced to keep its minivan plant in Canada closed for months. Kia, meanwhile, introduced the all-new Carnival minivan this year but has been unable to produce enough of them to even approach a normal inventory.
But demand is contributing to the shortage as well. Minivan sales grew by 84% in the second quarter alone.
Minivans remain a small sliver of the automotive market. Even with the sales burst, they make up about 2% of all vehicles sold in the second quarter. But they’re in such demand that Americans are paying an average of 8% over sticker price for them.
There are only five models of minivan for sale in the U.S. in the 2021 model year – the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager, Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival, and Toyota Sienna.The Sienna and Odyssey together make up well over half the market.
Why the success? Because, frankly, minivans are excellent vehicles. They offer the high-seating position of an SUV with added living space. Sliding doors make them more convenient in parking lots. Today’s minivans are built on car-like frames, giving them the handling of a large sedan. Hybrid options give them far better fuel economy than the minivans you might have grown up with. The Toyota Sienna Hybrid gets 36 mpg, while the Chrysler Pacific plug-in hybrid can go up to 32 miles on electric power.And the Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager offer all-wheel drive options.
As for that boring old handheld vacuum styling? That’s gone. Both Chrysler’s and Kia’s offerings look almost like SUVs.
It’s hard to beat the convenience of a 7- or 8-seat vehicle with sedan-like mileage, sliding doors, and a built-in vacuum to keep it neat. Americans are increasingly waking up to the pleasures of minivans. And automakers can’t build them fast enough.
