VW will discontinue the Routan minivan, which is a rebadged Chrysler Town & Country built under contract since 2008 by the U.S. carmaker. Volkswagen Group of America CEO Jonathan Browning said the Routan will be phased out this year, with most remaining units to be used for “internal purposes” such as VW’s corporate fleet.
“The segment is contracting in favor of crossovers and SUVs. The vehicle helped as a bridge solution for us,” Browning said in an interview at the New York auto show, according to Automotive News. Since the launch of the Routan in 2008 and until March 1 this year, VW has sold just 57,650 Routans. Chrysler stopped building the Routan at the Windsor, Ontario, plant in July 2012.
Volkswagen thinks the minivan segment is shrinking as SUVs continue to gain market share. “If you look at the history of the minivan segment, I don’t think anybody can deny there’s been erosion,” Browning said. However, U.S. minivan sales rose 14 percent last year to 597,118 units, with Chrysler, Honda and Toyota dominating the segment.
On the other hand, U.S. sales of the Routan dropped 16 percent last year to 10,483. The best year for the VW-badged minivan was 2010, when 15,961 units were sold. VW hopes to gain minivan customers with its upcoming 7-seater SUV previewed by the CrossBlue Concept unveiled in January at the Detroit auto show. The SUV is expected to be cheaper than the Touareg but more expensive than the Tiguan.
By Dan Mihalascu
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