While the Pacifica remains a popular buy with families, automotive experts believe more than a facelift is needed to keep the competition at bay. And by competition, we don’t mean traditional minivans – rather, the SUVs and crossovers buyers prefer in today’s marketplace.
“Unfortunately, that market is shrinking,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. “Volume itself is probably going to remain level for the next five, maybe eight, years. But it’s got competition with three-row crossovers, which are gaining in popularity, and with larger two-row crossovers going away, it’s feeding that volume to three-row crossovers. So we’re just watching minivan market share erode.”
Feuell admits that affordability is a hindrance to minivan ownership. “We’ve been working from both a pricing perspective as well as from incentives and promotional perspectives to hit that sweet spot of the monthly payment.”
Will a facelift save the Pacifica? Or is it a case of too little, too late?
