PARIS — Citroen will finish manufacturing of its final minivan, the Grand C4 SpaceTourer, in July after almost a decade, because the section continues to shrink. 

The minivan was launched in 2013 because the C4 Picasso, and Citroen says that greater than 730,000 have been offered.

It initially got here in each five- and seven-seat (Grand) variations, however lately solely the seven-seat model was offered, with the identify modified to SpaceTourer from Picasso in 2019.

A shift in client tastes has led to most automakers eradicating minivans from their lineups in favor of SUVs, crossovers and passenger variations of economic vans. 

“Altering expectations when it comes to modernity, type and use have turned prospects away from the MPV [minivan] market,” Citroen stated Thursday in asserting the top of C4 SpaceTourer manufacturing.

Consumers who need a seven-seat Citroen are restricted to 2 full-electric passenger vans, the small e-Berlingo and midsize e-SpaceTourer. 

Different minivan-style options could be discovered within the new C5 X midsize hatchback and C5 Aircross SUV, Citroen stated. 

Citroen’s first minivan was the Evasion, launched in 1994. It was adopted by fashions such because the midsize C8, the compact Xsara Picasso and the small C3 Picasso. 

The C4 Picasso nameplate was launched in 2006, with the present technology launched in 2013.

Citroen stated it has offered 732,000 C4 Picassos/SpaceTourers since 2013, of which 352,000 have been the seven-seat model. 

Citroen’s minivan gross sales reached their peak in 2007, when the automaker offered 115,000 items of the Xsara Picasso and 215,000 items of the C4 Picasso, the model stated.

The C4 SpaceTourer is in-built Stellantis’ manufacturing unit in Vigo, Spain, the place the automaker additionally makes small industrial and passenger vans for Citroen, Peugeot, Opel/Vauxhall and Toyota.

With the demise of the C4 SpaceTourer, there are few minivans left on the European market, and most aren’t slated for renewal when their life cycle ends.

They embrace the Volkswagen Touran, the Ford Galaxy and S-Max, the Renault Scenic/Grand Scenic and Espace, the Fiat 500L and the Dacia Lodgy. 

Via February, Citroen had offered  2,345 Grand C4 SpaceTourers, in accordance with figures from Dataforce. The Touran, the section chief lately, recorded gross sales of three,539 in that interval.