They may not be the coolest cars, but minivan sales did pick up steam last year…all except one.
You wouldn’t think it with just how explosively popular SUVs and crossovers have become over the years, but more 325,000 families decided to put a minivan in their driveways last year alone. Chrysler — the automaker that invented the segment for America, let’s remember — has long dominated the market, with its latest effort being the Pacifica (as well as the cut-price Voyager, which made its return last year). In fact, not only is the Pacifica/Voyager Chrysler’s only car on sale at this point, but it still sold 107,356 examples in 2024. If you count the Voyager as well, that figure increases to 119,389.
On the surface, that’s great. It’s still way ahead of the competition including the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Kia Carnival. Chrysler dealers also pulled out all the stops to shift as many Pacificas as possible by the end of the year, with the model’s Q4 sales up 208%. In just the last three months of 2024, the company sold 25,737 examples (with a further 1,266 Voyagers). But, going over the yearly sales report data…Chrysler still has a problem on its hands.
Year-over-year, Pacifica sales fell 11% from 2023 — while every other minivan on the market gained ground:
| Model | 2024 YTD Sales | 2023 YTD Sales | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chrysler Pacifica | 107,356 | 120,554 | -11% |
| Honda Odyssey | 80,293 | 74,738 | +7% |
| Toyota Sienna | 75,037 | 66,547 | +13% |
| Kia Carnival | 49,726 | 43,687 | +14% |
| Chrysler Voyager* | 12,033 | N/A (Reintroduced in 2024) | N/A |
| Volkswagen ID. Buzz | 1,162 | N/A (New model) | N/A |
Folks are increasingly going for one of the Pacifica’s rivals.
Now, if you include the Voyager, which is itself a budget version of the pre-facelift Pacifica, Chrysler’s position doesn’t look as bad. Even factoring in those 12,033 extra sales, though, it’s still the only minivan down in a market where most of its rivals were up by double digits. The Honda Odyssey, which only saw a minor facelift for 2025, improved by a more modest 7%.
Why is the Pacifica down? Even though it still touts plenty of plus points including the Stow ‘n Go seating and a plug-in hybrid variant, the Pacifica is now the oldest minivan in the segment. It’s been around since 2017 and other than an all-wheel drive variant in 2020, some minor aesthetic and trim updates and a few tech tweaks in 2021, it’s not that different from when it originally launched.
All the while, Toyota brought now an all-new, all-hybrid Sienna, while Kia’s also (finally) offering up a hybrid variant with its 2025 Carnival refresh. Chrysler’s rivals also offer up similar if not superior practicality, at a competitive price point to even the whats-old-is-new-again Voyager, which starts at $41,690. Step into the Pacifica, and you’re looking at a bill between $44,145 for the base Select (the Touring is gone for this year) and $61,975 for the fully loaded Pinnacle Plug-in Hybrid, before any available incentives.
Granted, the Pacifica PHEV is still the only plug-in hybrid minivan you can buy, so you can drive on electricity alone for short distances. It also enables the van to receive EV tax credits, at least for now, and Chrysler is offering cash on the hood to shift the standard gas-powered vans as well. People are nevertheless opting for the competition instead, according to the numbers, marking a shift that could spell trouble for the OG minivan’s long-term prospects (and Chrysler as a brand, which itself has been in limbo for years).
Chrysler does reportedly plan to update its standard Pacifica for 2026, and CEO Chris Feuell alluded to an electric version on Stellantis’ new STLA Large platform arriving after that. Short of an overhaul to bring interest, eyeballs and families’ hard-earned dollars back to the brand, though, we may see the current Pacifica continue on a downward trajectory through this year as well.
If you’re talking about electric capability, we can’t leave out the latest entrant to the minivan game, either: the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. While it doesn’t strictly compete against most of its rivals on price point, you could feasibly cross-shop VW’s funky electric van with the Pacifica PHEV, especially at the Chrysler’s upper trim levels. Sales-wise, Volkswagen doesn’t present much of a threat, but the automaker did sell 1,162 in the last few weeks of 2024, when it finally went on sale. It’s a bit of a wild-card, and something to watch in 2025.
