GM will dump minivans, rely on crossovers

Jamie LaReau | Rick Kranz | Automotive News / November 22, 2006 - 8:42 am / UPDATED: 11/22/06 3:50 P.M.





General Motors plans to cancel its next-generation minivan and abandon that vehicle segment.

Instead it will woo buyers with its mid-sized Lambda-based crossover vehicles, sources say. The minivans had been scheduled for the 2010 model year.

Chevrolet is scheduled to receive a crossover on the Lambda architecture by the 2010 model year. It will replace the Uplander minivan. Other minivans being killed are the Buick Terraza and Saturn Relay.

Crossovers off the front-drive Lambda architecture originally had been intended for more premium brands. The Lambda vehicles debut next month with the 2007 Saturn Outlook. The 2007 GMC Acadia follows early next year, and the 2008 Buick Enclave launches next summer.

GM's product board has not approved cancellation of the minivan program. But those close to GM say it's a safe bet the board will do so, based on declining sales in the segment, the high cost for GM and a belief that crossover vehicles can fill the void.

"The Lambda crossovers will do most anything a minivan can do - except for the sliding doors, which a lot of people don't like," says a source familiar with GM's product plans.

Suppliers get word

One GM supplier says it was awarded work on the GMT511 program, GM's internal code name for the new generation of minivans. But on Nov. 17, GM told suppliers it was canceling the program.

Jim Hall, vice president of the consulting company AutoPacific in Southfield, Mich., estimates GM had planned to spend $750 million to $1 billion on the minivan program. "They are in capital conservation mode," says Hall.

U.S. minivan sales have plummeted 19.0 percent since 2000, to 1,110,541 in 2005. That's a dramatic drop of 260,693 vehicles. The Chrysler group led the segment last year with 36.7 percent of the market, followed by Honda at 15.7 percent and GM at 14.9 percent. Last year GM sold 166,016 minivans.

This year, minivan sales are off 10.9 percent through October. Hall expects the downward trend to continue as buyers switch to crossovers and other vehicles.

Hall predicts minivan sales will continue to decline.

"There are not enough Gen-Xers to backfill. And as for Gen Y, nobody knows if they will want to buy minivans," he says.

The Lambda-based Chevrolet crossover will fill the slots vacated by the Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV and Uplander minivan. The Chevrolet crossover's styling draws heavily from the Chevrolet Sequel concept, unveiled in September. GM plans to discontinue the TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy, although the timetable has not been announced.

7 or 8 seats

The Lambda-based crossovers accommodate seven or eight people, depending on seating configuration. But Hall believes GM will lose hardcore minivan buyers who want seats that fold into the floor or are removable.

The second-row seats in the Acadia, Enclave and Outlook are not removable and do not fold into the floor. The third-row seat folds flat.

The Acadia and Outlook are assembled at GM's Delta Township plant near Lansing, Mich. The Enclave goes into production there next spring. GM's minivans are built in the Doraville, Ga., plant, which is scheduled to close in 2008.

 

Good. It'd be better spent elsewhere anyway.

 

I dont know if abandoning the mini-van segment is a great idea, there are alot of people out there that love them.

However offering nothing is better than offering the horrendous mini-van lineup GM has now.

 

Age/demographics is going to play a much more significiant role in the auto biz, then most think.

 

I think its a good move too, the mini-van market has been shrinking in recent years and the Lambda crossovers will replace the GM mini-van segment just fine, and will add tons of style and flair to would be mini-van buyers.

I never really understood why Saturn got a mini-van in the first place.

 

The Lambda crossover and Lambda minivan were both to be based on..err...Lambda. They probably figured it was redundant to have both.

 

So every division except Pontiac and Cadillac will get a Lambda? As I recall the Saab Lambda was going to replace the 9-7x.

 

Nooo ... don't stop building minivans?!?!



Yeah, I drive a Camaro ... like I care about minivans anyways? Honestly, I would NEVER own one. I'll continue to own GM's V8/RWD platforms, whether that's a Camaro or a Silverado . At least GM knows how to build a good truck .

 

Both my father and my father-in-law own minivans and swear by them. An Odyssey and a Caravan, respectively.

I'd bet money that neither of them would buy a crossover. My dad would go to a full-size van, and my father in law would go to something like the Dodge Magnum.

 

They really haven't gotten the minivan thing right. I kind of think there is some room to make money in the minivan market but maybe not. I think if they focused on economy and safety they could do pretty well. I also think the minivan would be a prime candidate for a hybrid.

 

I think this is just an issue of resources. They are likely dedicating resources to something that is needed more urgently.

 

I agree. Minivans rock.

 

The Uplander is a piece so it's hard for me to really be sad about this. I don't think GM shouldn't have a true mini van available but if it wasn't going to be better than the Uplander then it's for the best really.

 

I agree.

Spending $750 million to $1 billion isn't that much money as far as US vehicle program development goes. GM spent about a quarter of that just for the '98 Camaro front end 10 years ago, and if I'm not mistaken, the Mondeo (Countour & Mystique) cost at least $3 billion over a decade ago.

 

The Chevrolet Minivan was very, very futuristic looking.

I just hope that the vans are delayed until say, 2010 or so. Infact, last I heard they were set for 2010 or 2011 debut. This was very recent. I'm sure GM didn't just decide two days ago to cancel these.