cars of no return

Everything must go! The automotive industry is rapidly moving towards electromobility and needs space for new models. Of course, generational changes have always been a part of the industry, but the clarity in model ranges over the past year has been remarkable. Former bestsellers, last of their kind and some dream cars had to give up because they were no longer profitable, did not meet current limit values, or electric cars were to be built on assembly lines in the future. Arrival? Mostly none, and if they do, they get new names to distinguish old internal combustion engines from new electric cars.

One segment in particular now appears clinically dead: Ready for family vans! The last of the spacious five- and seven-seaters is on its way, or will be leaving us shortly. Citroën’s C4 Grand Picasso is gone, like rival Renault’s little Scenic, and its Grand version is on the verge of extinction. Saying goodbye to the old Swiss minibus bestseller, Seat Alhambra; Sharan, which is offered only with a 150 hp petrol engine and has shared the same production line with it for twelve years, will soon follow. And when the S-Max and the same-tech Galaxy and Ford family cars are canceled at the start of 2023, SUVs will finally prevail over the legacy boom segment.

Ford stops the classics

Overall, no stone is left unturned at Ford: even before the new Stromers are shown, all the classics will be phased out in mid-2023: the three-door Fiesta is already outdated, like the Golf Competitor Focus, the five-door version of the small car has been on the market for 47 years. It will be on the market next year. And without changing. The SUV Edge, which is almost too large for Europe, is also possible, and the old mid-range bestseller Mondeo is long gone. That’s how radical change works, of course.

The end was predictable for other models: Skoda’s compact station wagon, the Fabia, was the last loader in the segment – the new generation, sold since 2021, is offered only as a hatchback. Mazda’s CX-3 mini-SUV makes room for the slightly larger CX-30 that has been available for a long time. And twelve years later, Mitsubishi’s ASX has come to an end – but it will receive a successor based on the Renault Captur next year.

Savior, racer and recycler

Godzilla was also forced to abdicate: Nissan’s dreaded GT-R sports car, launched in 2007, reached an almost biblical era in the automobile world until emissions regulations in Europe put an end to it. The toy division at Audi is also closing: the super sports car R8’s extravagant V10 petrol engine roars for the last time in the GT special, limited to 333 units, just like the five-cylinder Audi TT RS. Iconic Edition. Both are likely to have successors at some point – purely electrically, of course. The successor to Lamborghini’s new-bodied Aventador, the last of which went to Switzerland, will again have a V12 petrol engine.

The old savior, who suddenly threw the brand from the Beetle era into the modern era, went to VW: the Passat sedan has already been eliminated from the program; station wagon Variant gets a final successor on the same platform as Skoda’s Superb. But electric cars also made their final lap. BMW’s lighthouse project, made of aluminum, carbon and recycled materials, was discontinued in 2022, as were the i3 and Hyundai’s Ioniq, offered as a hybrid, plug-in and electric car. Even the end was too late for him: After all, there was a risk of confusion after the Ioniq emerged as an electronic tag with two independent models.