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Customer LoginsChrysler Pacifica to help FCA maintain share in contracting segment
Before it goes on sale in April, IHS Automotive spent some time driving Chrysler's latest minivan, the Pacifica.
IHS Automotive Perspective
- Significance: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)'s Chrysler brand is about to launch its seventh-generation minivan. As a nod to how different the company expects this minivan to be, and as it will ultimately replace both the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan, the new vehicle is named the Pacifica.
- Implications: Chrysler essentially invented the minivan more than 30 years ago and brings a unique view and understanding of the market to the product. The new product needed to deliver long on features that add value to family life, and recent IHS first-drive experience suggests it delivers.
- Outlook: IHS Automotive forecasts the minivan (or mid-size MPV) segment will account for less than 3% of the US market going forward, though the segment represents volume of more than 500,000 units through 2022 and has essentially three major players (FCA, Honda, and Toyota). Chrysler's new minivan is forecast to help the company continue to hold just less than 40% of the market. The Pacifica raises the bar on technology available in the segment. With Honda and Toyota both preparing new generations of their respective minivan products, we expect that bar will be raised again in the near term.
2017 Chrysler Pacifica |
The new Chrysler Pacifica was designed to be a modern minivan to appeal to modern families, without losing loyalists, and IHS Automotive attended a recent media ride-and-drive event to take a closer look at the product. During the product reveal at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January, Chrysler said the new platform offers best-in-class noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) and ride and handling in a package that is longer, wider and lower than the outgoing minivan and offers improved comfort and convenience. Access to the second and third rows is easier than ever, though the outgoing product led the segment when it was first launched and has held up comparatively well − and Chrysler has kept the popular stow-and-go feature, while continuing to make it easier to use.
Chrysler's development incorporates smart, family-friendly features, including the ability to open the side doors and tailgate by running the foot by a sensor below the door (a feature seen first in the utility vehicle segment) and a button in the door handle which releases the door to make it easier for younger children to open, even if power doors are not selected. During IHS's drive at the media ride-and-drive event, the kick-to-open feature was not installed, though the button was helpful and easier to use than the traditional door handle, for child or adult. The latest rear-seat entertainment option, UConnect Theater, with two screens, on-board games and internet access, easily kept our passengers amused during multi-hour drives. UConnect Theater can be paired with UConnect Access to obtain Wi-Fi hotspot subscriptions by the day, week or month. The Pacifica does not offer the third-generation UConnect, so CarPlay and Android Auto are not yet available.
In terms of the platform, this generation incorporates the stow-and-go feature into the floor pan of the non-hybrid models we drove, a move which helps stiffen the body as well as lower the centre of gravity. The Pacifica is no sports car, but handling and ride comfort are vastly improved over the outgoing minivan, and better than the current competition. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) claims a 200-pound weight reduction on the standard V6 model, which mates the second-generation Pentastar V6 engine to the 9-speed automatic transmission; the weight loss helps this generation minivan deliver a more nimble feel than the outgoing model. The transmission and engine worked together smoothly during our drive − something that has not always been said of FCA's efforts with the 9-speed automatic earlier, and an issue more pronounced in 4-cylinder applications. With a longer wheelbase and wheels out to the corner, improved third-row head, shoulder and leg room are delivered. The Hybrid model does not go on sale until late in 2016 and was not available to drive at the ride-and-drive event.>
2017 Chrysler Pacifica |
New available safety features include parallel and perpendicular parking assist, a crisp and high-resolution 360-camera system for a birds'-eye view, adaptive cruise control with stop and hold, forward collision warning plus for applying brakes for the driver if impact is imminent, and lane-departure warning and assist. We found the 360-camera system helpful and the adaptive cruise control smooth; however, forward collision warning was not triggered in our drive time.
The Pacifica delivers a stylish, dynamic, and energetic package. The product looks as modern and elegant on the road as it did on the auto show floor. The family grille sits nicely on the minivan, and the exterior bright moulding and chrome highlight the vehicle's lines and provide a premium feel. The interior design lives up to the hype visually. However, passengers did note that the thinner seats, which the project's chief engineer told us are designed to offer more comfort than the outgoing, thicker and heavier seats, were only moderately comfortable on a long drive.
Outlook and implications
IHS Automotive forecasts the minivan (or mid-size multipurpose vehicle, MPV) segment will account for less than 3% of the US market going forward, though the segment represents volume of more than 500,000 units through 2022 and essentially has three major players (FCA, Honda, and Toyota). Chrysler's new minivan is forecasted to help the company continue to hold just less than 40% of the market. The Pacifica raises the bar on technology available in the segment. With Honda and Toyota both preparing new generations of their respective minivan products (due in late 2016 and in 2017, respectively), we expect that bar will be raised again in the near term.
2017 Chrysler Pacifica |
The Pacifica now leads the segment and offers the most technology of the available models. The launch pricing strategy has been carefully measured to compare favourably with the Honda and Toyota products, and is lower for than the outgoing Town & Country. The Pacifica comes loaded with features new to the minivan segment, if not the market, and the development team's focus on improving family-friendly features has paid off. The Pacifica is a terrific effort and deserves to earn substantial sales. However, competing in a shrinking segment will temper its volume potential.
Chrysler is also in a position to, for the near term, maintain the Dodge Caravan to address needs of buyers who do not want to step up to the cost of this more modern product and still want a minivan − something that cannot be done in the showrooms of its competitors. Although FCA has not confirmed that a lower-content version of the Pacifica will be offered to partly address that issue (with a USD25,000−26,000 starting price), such an offering remains a possibility and could be helpful to retain some Caravan buyers. FCA's recent strategy signals, however, that it may have the discipline to favour maintaining profit margin over cutting price to generate volume, as evidenced by the decision to drop the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart.
The minivan segment has fallen from 7.9% of the market in 2000 to 3.3% in 2014 and 2.9% in 2015. In 2015, the combined volume of US sales of the FCA minivan twins was 190,989 units, according to FCA reports. IHS Automotive forecasts the Pacifica will see US sales of nearly 158,000 units in 2017, the first full year of production. The segment overall, despite expected increased competition sparked by new models over the next 18 months, is forecasted to slip from 503,995 units in 2015 to near the 400,000-unit mark in 2020. FCA is forecasted to maintain its share of sales at just below 40%. As the largest player in a smaller pool, however, sales of the Pacifica are forecasted to hold near the 160,000-unit mark. The sales of the new product will not meet the volumes of the past, as much as a result of the shrinking segment as the difficulty in shifting the entry-price Dodge Caravan buyers to the Chrysler showroom.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.