Below we show you 5 cars that have stopped being sold in 2022 and that have no generational replacement in sight, at least with the same name.
2022 is not only marked by inflation and high fuel prices, but also because the automobile industry continues its unstoppable shift towards electric cars. It has already been approved that from 2035 it will not be possible to sell new cars with a combustion engine in Europe and this is raising important novelties for all manufacturers.
The electric car, as well as the hydrogen car and perhaps synthetic fuels, will be the only mobility options available to buy new ones from the year 2035. This implies discarding many cars that today are sold with thermal engines to make their way to the electrification, while others simply disappear because the end of their commercial life has come.
In the latter case, the common thing is to launch a new generation that allows to continue selling the product and obtaining benefits. However, there are times when poor business results lead the manufacturer to phase out the model without a generational replacement. Today we show you 5 cars that have stopped being sold in 2022, although the list is somewhat longer.
bmw i3
We start with the BMW i3, the pioneer of electric mobility from the Munich firm that this year has said goodbye to the market without a substitute. In fact, BMW frees up the trade name i3 for what will be the 100% electric version of the 3 Series, something that it has already done with the BMW i4 and the 4 Series, which will be one of the new models that the brand will launch in the Next future.
Returning to the i3, the Bavarian firm confirmed its farewell in June 2022 with the launch of a series of special commemorative editions. The cessation of production came in August with the i3 Home Run bathed in gold, a solemn farewell for an electric crossover made from recycled materials that had reported good sales levels to BMW for years.
Dacia Lodge
Another one that is no longer part of the current new car offer is the Dacia Lodgy. The large minivan of the Romanian firm had been accusing its age for years while Dacia worked on a substitute that has finally arrived with another name. The gap left in the range by the Lodgy is now occupied by the new Dacia Jogger.
In this way, the company loses a large minivan with up to 7 seats inside and a body that was 4.52 meters long. This economical market alternative, widely used in the taxi sector, stood out for its price and simplicity, and offered diesel and gasoline engines and a variant of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with the DGT ECO label.
Ford Mondeo
In April of this same year, the last produced Ford Mondeo left the Valencian production plant in Almussafes. 29 years of history that come to an end without a generational replacement, which forced us to say goodbye to one of the few non-premium D-segment sedans still on the market in Europe.
The Mondeo thus succumbs to the SUV fashion, a market that demands SUV-type cars to the detriment of the classic three-volume sedans, which were the option chosen by families for decades.
The last years of the Mondeo were marked by residual sales levels while Ford resigned himself to laying off the saloon. It was only sold in a hybrid version and in this generation it was sold in both a 4 and 5-door version as well as a family variant.
renault kadjar
The SUV segment has also said goodbye to a member, although in this case it has had a happier ending. Another of the cars that have stopped being sold in 2022 has been the Renault Kadjar, the compact SUV from the diamond firm that, after seven years of commercial life and the odd update, said goodbye just a few months ago.
Luckily, the French firm has not left this segment orphaned, since it has introduced the Renault Austral as a generational replacement, which is manufactured in the same Palencia Factory where the Kadjar was assembled. The new Austral is strongly marked by the electrification of its range of engines, something that was a weak point in the Kadjar.
volkswagen passat
Finally, the fifth car that has stopped being sold in 2022 has been the Volkswagen Passat. The German sedan said goodbye this year after almost half a century active and eight generations active.
Luckily, it is not the definitive end for the Passat, since Volkswagen has dispensed with the version of three volumes and four doors, but continues to sell the family, the Passat Variant. In fact, the company is already in the development phase of the new generation of the Passat, which should arrive in 2023 or, perhaps, in 2024, and which will only be offered with a family body.
