Stellantis touts 2025 Grand Caravan pricing as 'budget friendly' analysts say competition is steep

A made-in-Windsor, Ont.,minivan will come with new "budget-friendly" pricing next year, automaker Stellantis announced Wednesday.

But some analysts say competition in the market for affordable vehicles is steep and the price could be a shock to consumers.

"The 2025 Chrysler Grand Caravan offers customers a well-equipped, budget-conscious minivan, and reinforces our brand's commitment to delivering choices in the segment Stellantis created more than 40 years ago and continues to lead," Chris Feuell, brand CEO for Stellantis, said in a media release.

The 2025 Grand Caravan will start at$49,995. The 2024 model startedat a slightly higher price point of$50,555, while the 2025 Chrysler Pacifica, which is also made in Windsor, starts at $55,390, or $60,390for an all-wheel drive model.

By comparison, the2025 Honda Odyssey starts at $52,056, the Kia Carnival starts at $43,656 and the Toyota Sienna starts at $48,015.

CBCNews spoke toconsumersabout Stellantis's announcement outside a Service Ontario location in Windsor.

Glynis Ciampaglia,a Chrysler employee for 34 years, saidshe only ever drove Grand Caravans with her family.

"Let's face it, the vans are for families and children, and people can hardly afford to live, let alonepay [$50,000, $60,000], $70,000 for a family vehicle. It's just unheard of," she said.

"These Pacificas are gorgeous vehicles. However, no one can afford them, even the people building them these days."

Jacob Budrewicz, who saidhe's only ever bought used and older cars and "never even wants to think" about buying a brand-new car, said it was "pricier" for a minivan.

"But it's not surprising with how things are nowadays, how expensive everything is," he said.

Marketing the Grand Caravan as budget friendly is part of a push to offerminivans at different price points to appeal to different parts of the market, said Mark Schirmer, director of industry insights, corporate communications for Cox Automotive.

Buyer 'exhaustion'overinflation could drive pricing strategy

"I think more manufacturers are looking at their lineup and saying 'we need to push the more affordable vehicles here,' because I do think that maybe there is some exhaustion on the consumers' part or in the consumers' wallet," he said.

"The Pacifica is, of all the current minivans, on the higher end. So I do think this is ... putting more choice in their lineup. But I'm sure it'sto offer a more affordable optionto help keep that Chrysler minivan more competitive."

But, he said, more affordable options like compact SUVs and crossovers are selling well too.

"There is a real demand for affordability becausea lot of consumers are feeling that the average price of a new car is pretty high," he said.

Automotive prices are actually dipping a little bit this year, Schirmer said. But there might still be sticker shock for people looking to buy a new car.

"The average cost of a price in the U.S., at least compared to 2019, is up about 25 per cent. So there has been a pretty big jump in the past five years of overall transaction prices for vehicles," he said.

Joe McCabe, president of Auto Forecast Solutions, saidthere's plenty of competition in the affordability space.

"So if you believe a minivan is your solution because that's your people mover, well, then that's great. I just think there's a lot of competition in that space that could possibly move people out of minivans," he said.

"But it's expensive making the cars these days ... when you say [$45,000]or $50,000, I don't think it's going to all of a sudden say, 'wow, I cannot believe how attractive that price is' and people are going to be rushing to the dealership. I still think it's an OK price."

Hedoesn't think the pricing announcement will "move the needle" too much.

"If we look at it in a vacuum, it might look attractive, but you look at how many bands are competing, they're they're losing market share and they have been for years when crossovers and SUVs really took it took over that market."