FCA is going to phase out the Dodge Grand Caravan in 2016. The minivan segment has been shrinking for some time.

Confirming longstanding rumors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles says it will end production of the Dodge Grand Caravan in 2016 as part of a broad product and brand realignment that will leave the U.S. side of the automaker with only the Chrysler Town & Country in its model line-up.

That’s a big shift for a manufacturer credited with inventing the modern minivan in 1984 and who once offered the family-friendly vehicles under a variety of different badges. But it reflects not only the changes coming as Fiat Chrysler (FCA) rejiggers its brand strategy, but also the long and steady decline of a once-popular market segment today largely disdained by American motorists.

Minivan sales shrank by 4.0% in 2013, according to industry data, to 532,357. That’s still enough volume that the industry can’t completely write off what critics have dubbed “mom-mobiles,” but it’s a far cry from the 1.4 million minivans manufacturers like Chrysler sold at the segment’s peak in 2000.

In 2016, the Chrysler Town & Country will Fiat Chrysler's only minivan option, although it will be available as a hybrid.

And the odds are that when it cuts its current line-up in half Chrysler will see a further decline in total sales, says David Sullivan, a senior analyst with consulting firm AutoPacific, Inc. But the one surviving model, the Chrysler Town & Country just might reinvigorate the segment if the Detroit maker delivers the sort of surprise-and-delight redesign it came up with its original 1984 models.

“They could come up with a new model that will awaken or redefine the segment,” said Sullivan, who attended a day-long briefing on FCA’s product plans this week. “They are doing more research on this new minivan than I’ve seen in a long time.”

Good, new product has traditionally been a way to reinvigorate a weak product segment. But with just a few exceptions, the minivan market hasn’t seen much in recent years. Chrysler’s number one competitor, the Honda Odyssey, added a built-in vacuum cleaner for 2014, but that’s a far cry from such once-revolutionary breakthroughs as sliding doors, foldaway seats and a dozen cup and juice box holders.

Meanwhile, there are fewer players in the current minivan segment since the mid-1990s, when the segment captured a peak 8.5% of the total U.S. automotive market. Chrysler alone has killed off the old Plymouth Voyager and the short-wheelbase Dodge Caravan. Both General Motors and Ford Motor Co. have pulled out of the segment.

The only other models now available are the Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, the Nissan Quest, the Kia Sedona and the Mazda5.

The pending departure of the Dodge Grand Caravan may represent an opportunity for increased Honda Odyssey sales in 2016.

Chrysler has been toying with ideas designed to reshape the concept of the minivan for years. It’s a challenge considering the basic functionality demanded by those who love the vehicles forces them to stick with a basic “one-box” design. Chrysler tried to go for a more radical look with the 700C concept of a few years ago, and it remains to be seen if that will influence the styling of the next Town & Country due out in 2016.

(Fiat Chrysler predicts major growth in next five years. For more, Click Here.)

One thing the maker has confirmed is that the new model will be offered with the minivan segment’s first plug-in hybrid powertrain, which is expected to yield “an estimated 75 mpg,” according to Chrysler brand CEO Al Gardner. By using the electric motor to drive one axle and the gas engine to power the other, meanwhile, the minivan might offer an unusual all-wheel-drive capability that, analyst Sullivan believes, could further enhance its appeal.

(Click Here for details about FCA’s 12% revenue increase in Q1.)

Meanwhile, with Millennials just reaching the age where they’re starting their own families, some analysts believe the 2016 Chrysler Town & Country could come along at precisely the right time for a modest minivan revival.

(To see more about FCA’s plans for the future, Click Here.)

The decision to drop the Dodge version reflects, as much as anything, that brand’s shift in focus to concentrate on its high-performance heritage with models like the Charger and Challenger muscle cars.

But in a Q&A session wrapping up the Tuesday strategy session, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne cryptically hinted that the Grand Caravan nameplate itself might not go away. That leases open the possibility that either it could become a second minivan badge for the Chrysler brand or, alternatively, be used for one of the crossover models the Detroit maker is working on as an alternative for folks who want minivan amenities without the segment’s stigma.