Matt McAlear, CEO of Chrysler and Dodge, wants the world to know that the minivan is not dead. Far from it, he said at the New York International Auto Show, where he showed off the latest version of the Pacifica Pinnacle, the highest-end trim of the brand's only product line.
The Chrysler brand, once one of the biggest names in the auto industry, only sells one family of minivans, which many take as a sign of the brand's imminent demise.
Chrysler, which has promised new products for years, said it will share more plans with its parent company. stellantis'investor day on May 21 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. McAlear did not elaborate, but said the brand had “a lot of things in the works” and promoted its only vehicle.
“We absolutely believe the minivan market is growing and we believe there is an opportunity for Chrysler to continue its growth year after year,” McAlear said. Chrysler is the best-selling brand in the segment, he added.
Chrysler and Dodge CEO Matt McAlear during the 2026 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) in New York, U.S., Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | fake images
Resurgence of minivans?
Chrysler is often credited with inventing the minivan, or at least introducing it to the United States in the early 1980s. Rivals followed, but many have since abandoned it.
Since the 1990s, minivans have been losing ground to SUVs, which are considered sportier and more adventurous. Minivan sales accounted for just 1.7% of the market in 2017, according to Edmunds. In 2025, they rose to 2.4%.
Sales figures for Chrysler and its few competitors in this segment indicate growing interest in the adaptable and often affordable “multipurpose vehicle,” as the minivan is sometimes called. The average transaction price for a large SUV is $77,215, according to Edmunds. The average price of a minivan, meanwhile, it's $48,269, just above the industry's overall average cost for a new vehicle of $48,402.
There's so much demand that Chrysler saw fit to introduce a new high-end version of its minivan at the Auto Show, called the Pinnacle. The vehicle is packed with features common in high-end family vehicles, such as seatback screens so passengers in the back row can watch movies during a road trip. But there are also some advantages that are difficult to find outside the segment: in some versions, both the second and third row seats can be stored completely on the floor, for example.
Companies like Chrysler are also trying to look beyond the “family hauler” identity that the minivan has had for much of its history. Their Grizzly Peak concept has knobby tires and a roof rack., was looking for a more robust option, and McAlear said the company was thinking about how to do more of that.
“We are analyzing it,” he said. “We're trying to figure out if there's a way to do it because people love it. And it's like nothing you've ever seen from a minivan brand before.”
McAlear also highlighted the van's storage capacity compared to similar vehicles.
“I have a friend who is a racing driver,” he said. “One of the things he likes most about this is that he puts a stick shift kart in the back seat with the third row down, with his kids, so he can keep it safe and not have to have a trailer. Another friend of mine loves kitesurfing and he doesn't want to put it on top because it's hard to get on and off. It's hard to keep it safe and secure. He keeps it inside.”
Pacifica sales only increased slightly in 2025. The affordable Voyager model, which the brand has since rebranded as the Pacifica LX, sells in smaller quantities but saw a larger increase. Pacifica sales declined during the first quarter of 2026, but Chrysler said they were up nearly 84% in March year over year.
There are only a handful of vehicles in this segment in the United States, or five basic model lines, including the electric Volkswagen ID Buzz, which VW prefers not to call a minivan.
Toyota Sienna sales increased 35% in 2025 and increased again in the first quarter of 2026. It is nowhere near Toyota's best-selling vehicle, and many models, some of which were new or updated, saw a larger increase. Honda, Toyota's Japanese rival, saw sales of its Odyssey increase by 10% last year. But they fell in the first quarter of 2026.
A particularly successful model has been the Kia Carnival. Volumes increased in 2025 and in the first quarter of 2026. It still doesn't match Kia's comparable SUVs, as minivan sales are just a few thousand behind those of the three-row Sorento, but well below the popular and tougher Telluride.
“The Carnival is just a great, practical family vehicle,” said Eric Watson, vice president of sales operations for Kia America. “I think at the stage of life where people have kids and want those power sliding doors and the configuration that that vehicle offers, it's perfect at that stage of life.”
Kia was one of the last to enter the segment, and although it has the sliding rear door that defines the minivan segment, the body panel is perforated to give the illusion that the vehicle is an SUV.
“I think that appeals to a lot of people and reduces the stigma of being a minivan family,” Watson said.
But some are drawn to the segment itself. While the Chrysler Pinnacle starts above $56,000, the lowest-priced LX starts just above $41,000.
“We're actually seeing a resurgence,” McAlear said. “At the end of the day, these things make life easier and you don't always need to impress everyone.”
