February may be the month of love, but Volkswagen will see to it that the ‘Routan boom’ is brought to a screeching halt next month. In response to slumping demand, Volkswagen has ordered Chrysler to halt production of the Routan minivan during the month of February.
The Routan is built at Chrysler’s Windsor production plant – alongside Chrysler’s Town & Country and Dodge ’s Grand Caravan minivans – at the clip of about 300 units per day, according to The Windsor Star. However, the Routan has yet to catch on with buyers, causing a massive inventory buildup. Since Routan production ramped up five months ago, the Windsor factory has produced about 29,000 units, with only a few thousand of those making their way off dealers’ lots.
Although no layoffs have been announced in response to the production cuts, some could be on the way. Late last year Chrysler temporarily eliminated one shift at the Windsor plant, with something similar likely in the workers. In all, the Windsor plant employs about 5,000 workers.
