Editing Minivan (section)

{{Distinguish|Minibus|Midibus}} {{short description|Type of van designed for private use}}
{{Redirect|Mini van|the van version of the Mini car|Mini#Mini Van{{!}}Mini Van}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
[[File:2019 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L, front 7.4.19.jpg|thumb|The [[Chrysler Pacifica (minivan)|Chrysler Pacifica]], the best-selling minivan in the United States as of 2020<ref>{{cite web |title=Ranked: 5 best-selling new minivans in the U.S. in 2020 |work=AutomotiveMap |quote=No. 1 - Chrysler Pacifica (93,802 sold) |url= https://automotivemap.com/best-selling-minivans-2020-2646941150.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2 |date=10 August 2020 |access-date=17 January 2021}}</ref>]]

'''Minivan''' (sometimes called simply a '''van''') is a [[car classification]] for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows {{cn|date=November 2023}}. The equivalent classification in Europe is '''MPV''' ('''multi-purpose vehicle'''), '''people carrier''',<ref>{{cite web|url= http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/minivan?a=british |title=minivan|work=Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=30 May 2017}}</ref> or '''M-segment'''.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/minivan?a=british |title=minivan|work=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=30 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="EEC Merger Procedure">{{cite web |date=17 March 1999 |title=Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 - Merger Procedure |url= http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m1406_en.pdf |access-date=2019-03-03 |website=ec.europa.eu |publisher=Office for Official Publications of the European Communities |page=2 |language=en |location=Luxemburg}}</ref><ref name="CP">{{cite web |date=1 January 2011 |title=Car prices within the European Union / Prix des voitures au sein de l'Union européenne / Autopreise in der europäischen Union |url= http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/motor_vehicles/prices/2011_07_full.pdf |access-date=2019-03-03 |website=ec.europa.eu |publisher=Publications Office of the European Union |language=en-uk, fr, de |location=Brussels}}</ref><ref name="PF">{{cite web |title=Impact on the Competitiveness of the European Automotive Industry of Potential FTA with India and ASEAN |url= http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/files/projects/report_fta_india_asean_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130429040531/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/files/projects/report_fta_india_asean_en.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2013 |website=europa.eu |page=8}}</ref>

Compared with a [[full-size van]], most minivans are based on a passenger [[car platform]] and have a lower body. Early models such as the [[Ford Aerostar]] and [[Chevrolet Astro]] utilized a compact pickup truck platform.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=Rich |title=The Light Vantastics |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=February 1990 |volume=167 |issue=2 |page=64 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5eMDAAAAMBAJ&q=Aerostar+built+on+the+Ranger+pickup+chassis&pg=RA1-PA64 |access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Mass Transit |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=November 1987 |volume=164 |issue=11 |page=72 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=euMDAAAAMBAJ&q=Astro+derived+from+a+mini+pickup+S-10&pg=PA71 |access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref> Minivans often have a 'one-box' or 'two-box' [[Car body configurations|body configuration]], a higher roof, a flat floor, sliding doors for rear passengers, and high [[H-point]] seating. The largest size of minivans is also referred to as 'Large MPV' and became popular following the introduction of the 1984 [[Dodge Caravan]] and [[Renault Espace]]. Typically, these have platforms derived from D-segment passenger cars or compact pickups. Since the 1990s, the smaller [[compact MPV]] and [[mini MPV]] sizes of minivans have also become popular.<ref>{{cite web|title=Our pick: Top 10 used mini-MPVs|url= http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2010/08/cars/nissan/note/our-pick-top-10-mini-mpvs |work=Auto Trader |access-date=28 February 2012|date=3 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120305104605/http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2010/08/cars/nissan/note/our-pick-top-10-mini-mpvs |archive-date=5 March 2012}}</ref>

Though predecessors to the minivan date back to the 1930s, the contemporary minivan body style was developed concurrently by several companies in the early 1980s, most notably by [[Chrysler]] (producer of the [[Chrysler minivans]]) and [[Renault]] (the [[Renault Espace]]), both first sold for [[model year]] 1984. Minivans cut into and eventually overshadowed the traditional market of the [[station wagon]] and grew in global popularity and diversity throughout the 1990s. Since the 2000s, their reception has varied in different parts of the world: in North America, for example, they have been largely eclipsed by [[Crossover (automobile)|crossover]]s and [[SUV]]s, while in Asia they are commonly marketed as [[luxury vehicle]]s.