It’s not secret that the U.S. minivan market is on the decline. Ford and General Motors have already abandoned the segment altogether and minivan sales were down 23 percent through the first two months of this year when compared to the same time period in 2007. Ford is preparing to launch its all-new minivan-esque Flex crossover this summer, but the Blue Oval thinks it has come up with a plan to distance the Flex from the negative minivan image — tell people that it’s actually a cool vehicle for people that don’t have kids.
Instead of going down the family hauler road, Ford will position the Flex as a hip vehicle for people that want to make a stylish statement. “There’s much more to this vehicle when you look at it rather than just narrowly defining it as a family crossover,” Kate Pearce, Flex marketing manager, told Automotive News. “It is the style that draws people to this vehicle. Good or bad, it evokes an emotion.”
Although the Flex’s largest customer base will likely be those with a family, Ford ’s new marketing chief, Jim Farley, made the decision to shift the Flex’s position from a family hauler to a chic mode of transportation for trend-setters.
According to Automotive News, Ford engineers also changed the Flex’s design to make it less reminiscent of a minivan. The Flex was originally designed to use rear sliding doors, but the decision was made to use conventional hinged doors to make it less like a minivan. The decision also freed up some cash that was used to spruce up the Flex’s interior.
It remains to be seen if Ford’s positioning of the Flex will convince buyers that it isn’t a minivan, but we’ll soon know as the Flex is slated to hits dealer showrooms in June.
