When May sales for the U.S. are reported this week, analysts expect the industry to be down slightly -- mainly because of two fewer selling days than in May 2015, including one weekend day.
So if Fiat Chrysler ekes out its 74th consecutive year-over-year sales increase, as expected, it will likely do so with a big assist from a segment often dismissed as a has-been -- minivans.
It's not just the addition of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, which began production Feb. 29 and still is flowing into FCA US's roughly 2,400 Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram stores in the U.S. FCA's minivan resurgence also has a lot to do with the Dodge Grand Caravan, which will soldier on until next year, and the sell-down of the out-of-production Chrysler Town & Country.