Hyundai Phasing Out Entourage Minivan

After Years of Slow Sales, A Hyundai Motor America official says the auto maker officially is pulling the plug on its Entourage minivan.

“We are phasing that vehicle out,” Dave Zuchowski, vice president-sales, tells Ward's. “We have maybe 1,000 units we're going to sell this year.”

The Entourage was Hyundai's first entry into the minivan market, but its lifecycle was marked by indecision. It had been removed from Hyundai's pipeline. Then in 2005, it was suddenly put back.

Since the Entourage went on sale in early 2006 as an '07, the minivan segment has cratered. The Entourage's best sales year was 2007, when Hyundai sold 17,155 units, according to Ward's data.

The segment leader that year, the Dodge Caravan, racked up 176,150 deliveries, narrowly edging out the Honda Odyssey.

But Zuchowski downplays the model's impact on Hyundai's business. “Strategically, it's not a market we need to be in,” he says.

He acknowledges Kia's Sedona minivan, the Entourage's mechanical twin, has been more successful.

“It's very difficult to get Honda and Toyota (brand) minivan intenders, so (Entourage sales) have been more out of the Chrysler (LLC) camp, out of the Ford (Motor Co.) camp and the General Motors (Corp.) camp,” he says.

Entourage Future Murky as Minivan Slump Accelerates
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