It's Official: Minivans Are Back, Baby!

This year, minivans are off to a strong start, some by a shocking amount. For some models, that could just be seen as a fluke, but we think there's more to it than that. That's because these strong numbers are continuing from a great 2025.

Kia Should Host A Carnival To Celebrate The Carnival
The big winner for January is clearly the Kia Carnival. While it wasn't the best-selling minivan of the month, it had the biggest improvement. Sales grew by 60% from 3,665 to 5,879 comparing January of last year to this year. Not only was that a huge increase, it also meant the Carnival outsold the Honda Odyssey by a little more than 500 units.

Honda doesn't have anything to feel bad about, though. Odyssey sales also grew, if more modestly. They went up by 5.7% from 5,036 to 5,334 between Januarys.

From what we can tell (since Chrysler hasn't released numbers at the time of writing), the best selling minivan of the month was the Toyota Sienna. The company sold 7,345 Siennas, which was 13.9% better than last January's 6,448. We have reached out to Chrysler to get Pacifica sales data, and we will update this post if and when we hear back from the company.

Last Year Was Surprising
The reason we say this isn't just a flash in the van, is that all of these models have been on the rise. Last year was excellent for all of them. Both the Toyota Sienna and the Chrysler Pacifica had sales greater than 100,000. The Carnival started its wild rise that year, with total sales hitting 71,917, an increase of 45% over 2024's 49,726 sales. Honda had a strong year with Odyssey sales growing by 10.2%, and the entry-level Chrysler Voyager improved by 31%. With that said, Voyager sales remained small compared with other models at just 15,792 units.

Mercedes Is Getting Into The Minivan Game
While Mercedes isn't at all new to vans in general, it's better known for its commercial vans. However, it's getting more serious about the more consumer-focused and better-appointed American-style minivan segment with the upcoming electric VLE-Class. It's even going to offer it in the U.S., which seems a strong sign that vans are having a moment.

The VLE-Class will certainly be a more luxurious option than most of the minivans we've discussed, but there could be a little bit of overlap with some of the high-level trims other companies offer, such as the Pacifica Pinnacle. Mercedes previewed the VLE with the Vision V Concept, offering a boxy, but rounded shape and a Maybach-level interior.

The production one should be available with both more conservative interiors and some approaching the concept. In fact, those models will be split with different model names. the more basic version will get the VLE name, and the higher-end version will have the VLS name. A prototype managed to drive 700 miles on a charge. We'll know more about it soon when it's revealed on March 10.