Chrysler-Windsor Down for “New Product”

Chrysler’s minivan factory in Windsor, Ontario, the only place in the world they make Pacificas and Grand Caravans, is being shut down for five weeks this summer. Orders for minivans will be hung up until production restarts on August 12.

The company claimed that they increased the outage by three weeks for improvements, maintenance, and new model production. It’s not likely that the “new model” is the 2020 Voyager, since that wouldn’t require any real changes.

Minivan sales are down across the industry, but it’s hit the Chrysler Pacifica harder than other minivans, including the company’s own (and soon to be dropped) Dodge Grand Caravan. The Canadian government is trying to intervene to stop Chrysler from dropping the plant’s third shift, but layoffs seem likely anyway.

Dealers report having few Grand Caravans on the ground, suggesting that the drop-date for that minivan might be a year earlier than many people had thought.

Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including an F-body Camaro and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, lives in Farmingdale, New York, and can be reached at +1.516-531-4021.