Speaking from a European perspective, I think classic minivans are dead. There are just a handful of minivans left on the market, and I doubt any of them will be electrified.
People who used to buy minivans now have 3 options:
- if you don't need to transport more than 5 people, you can get an SUV. There are lots of electric options.
- if you want to transport 5-7 people and want a lot of cargo space, you can get what wikipedia calls a "leisure activity vehicle" (VW Caddy, Renault Kangoo, Mercedes Citan). A new electric Kangoo with longer range is coming, and there's the Mercedes EQT concept based on it which is as close to an electric minivan as you'll get.
- If you want an even bigger car that can transport up to 8 people there's the EQV from Mercedes.
European minivans never really existed in the US. The European vans (V-Class, Staria, T6.1/T7, Vito, PSA van etc.) are size wise almost on the same level as the classical US minivans (Pacifica, Carnival, Odyssey). Sure, small minivans are dying out but at the same time there are a lot of new van designs many of which are already electrified but don't have good range yet.
VW is positioning the new T7 as replacement for Touran/Sharan/Alhambra and the ID.Buzz for instance is supposed to be a replacement as well when it's available.
I actually looked at gray market importing of European vans (we don't have any of those in the US) but it was cost prohibitive or straight up impossible depending on the model.
People who used to buy minivans now have 3 options:
- if you don't need to transport more than 5 people, you can get an SUV. There are lots of electric options.
- if you want to transport 5-7 people and want a lot of cargo space, you can get what wikipedia calls a "leisure activity vehicle" (VW Caddy, Renault Kangoo, Mercedes Citan). A new electric Kangoo with longer range is coming, and there's the Mercedes EQT concept based on it which is as close to an electric minivan as you'll get.
- If you want an even bigger car that can transport up to 8 people there's the EQV from Mercedes.