Minivan Sales In America - 2008 Year End

Minivan sales in the United States plunged 23% in 2008, a year that ended in great turmoil, as total new vehicle sales slid 18%. Minivans accounted for 4.9% of the auto industry's 2008 U.S. sales volume, down from 5.2% in 2007.

In other words, an oncoming recession brought auto sales down in 2008, yet minivan sales fell even harder than the overarching new vehicle market.

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• Complete U.S. Minivan Market Sales Figures - 2007 Year End
• Complete U.S. Minivan Market Sales Figures - 2009 Year End

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The Honda Odyssey took over as America's top-selling minivan in 2008, surging past the fast-falling Dodge Grand Caravan despite the Honda's own 22% year-over-year decline. 

Total Chrysler minivan sales were still far in excess of what Honda could manage - Chrysler Group's market share in the category was 37.7%, equal to the total achieved in 2007. But the tide had clearly turned away.

Chrysler was certainly an extraordinarily afflicted automaker in 2008. Group-wide sales fell 30% to 1.45 million, a loss of nearly 624,000 units as the automaker lost 209,000 sales from minivans and pickup trucks alone.

Click Column Headers To Sort Minivans By Volume Or % Change

Minivan	2008	2007	%  Change
Buick Terraza	544	5,569	-90.2%
Chevrolet Astro	---	25	-100%
Chevrolet Uplander	40,456	69,885	-42.1%
Chevrolet Venture	---	25	-100%
Chrysler Town & Country	118,563	138,151	-14.2%
Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan	123,749	176,041	-29.7%
Ford Freestar	---	2,390	-100%
GMC Safari	---	13	-100%
Honda Odyssey	135,493	173,046	-21.7%
Hyundai Entourage	8,470	17,155	-50.6%
Kia Rondo	28,645	26,020	10.1%
Kia Sedona	26,915	40,493	-33.5%
Mazda 5	22,021	13,717	60.5%
Mazda MPV	---	125	-100%
Mercury Monterey	---	700	-100%
Nissan Quest	18,252	28,590	-36.2%
Pontiac Montana	---	26	-100%
Pontiac Montana SV6	64	1,359	-95.3%
Saturn Relay	163	1,474	-88.9%
Toyota Sienna	115,944	138,162	-16.1%
Volkswagen Routan	3,387	---	---
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Total	642,666	832,966	-22.8%

Source: Automakers & ANDC

Top 40 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada - 2008 Year End

Canada's auto market dipped slightly in 2008, falling especially sharply at the end of the year, but the Honda Civic was able to take advantage of an increased appetite for passenger cars to claim not just best-selling car status but the title of Canada's best-selling vehicle overall.

Honda had never previously sold as many Civics in Canada as they did in 2008, nor have they since. The Civic needed Ford F-Series volume to slide in order to grab the top spot, and F-Series volume slid, indeed. The 8% drop equalled a drop of 5869 units. F-Series sales slid by 1250 units in December alone. The economic climate was not a pleasant one.

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• Top 40 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada - 2007 Year End
• Top 40 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada - 2009 Year End

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SUVs were again led by the Ford Escape, and the Toyota RAV4 surged to take the second spot in the category as Honda CR-V sales decreased slightly. Six other utility vehicles joined the top trio in the group of Canada's top 40 sellers.

Sales of the Dodge Grand Caravan plummeted 28%, but Chrysler did sell an extra 3334 copies of the DGC's twin, the Town & Country. Cars generated just a quarter of all Chrysler Group sales, and more than a third of those car sales were produced by the disappointing Caliber. 

These were Canada's 40 best-selling vehicles in calendar year 2008.

Rank	Best-Selling Vehicle	2008	2007	%  Change
#1	Honda Civic	72,463	70,838	2.3%
#2	Ford F-Series	67,749	73,618	-8.0%
#3	Toyota Corolla	57,736	40,474	42.6%
#4	Mazda 3	50,317	48,236	4.3%
#5	Dodge Ram	42,736	42,296	1.0%
#6	Toyota Yaris	40,602	34,424	17.9%
#7	Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan	39,780	55,041	-27.7%
#8	Chevrolet Silverado	34,685	40,066	-13.4%
#9	GMC Sierra	34,555	40,606	-14.9%
#10	Chevrolet Cobalt	33,754	32,613	3.5%
#11	Ford Escape	32,898	31,643	4.0%
#12	Hyundai Accent	29,751	16,390	81.5%
#13	Pontiac G5	26,436	25,211	4.9%
#14	Toyota Camry	24,618	28,218	-12.8%
#15	Ford Ranger	24,211	23,386	3.5%
#16	Ford Focus	23,654	24,013	-1.5%
#17	Toyota Matrix	23,549	21,369	10.2%
#18	Honda Accord	22,623	22,102	2.4%
#19	Nissan Versa	21,845	21,940	-0.4%
#20	Toyota RAV4	20,522	16,329	25.7%
#21	Honda CR-V	20,500	20,980	-2.3%
#22	Dodge Caliber	19,544	18,553	5.3%
#23	Chevrolet Malibu	17,596	9,857	78.5%
#24	Pontiac Vibe	17,335	12,915	34.2%
#25	Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit	16,919	14,164	19.5%
#26	Nissan Altima	16,676	17,126	-2.6%
#27	Chevrolet Uplander/Venture	16,133	19,006	-15.1%
#28	Pontiac Montana/SV6	14,953	19,172	-22.0%
#29	Chevrolet Impala	14,913	16,326	-8.7%
#30	Honda Fit	14,836	13,507	9.8%
#31	Hyundai Santa Fe	14,401	15,429	-6.7%
#32	Volkswagen Jetta	13,915	14,665	-5.1%
#33	Jeep Patriot	13,836	9,629	43.7%
#34	Pontiac G6	13,640	11,848	15.1%
#35	Ford Fusion	13,326	15,882	-16.1%
#36	Nissan Rogue/X-Trail	13,163	7,503	75.4%
#37	Jeep Wrangler	12,137	9,834	23.4%
#38	Chevrolet Equinox	11,946	13,205	-9.5%
#39	Mazda 5	11,944	11,690	2.2%
#40	Ford Edge	11,834	10,349	14.3%

Source: Automakers & ANDC