The major upheaval in the domestic car market has put many car models on the brink of life and death, facing the risk of being discontinued. Based on experience, when a car is about to be discontinued, dealers usually offer huge discounts to clear inventory, and some rare models may even see an increase in the price of used cars due to the discontinuation. Today, we have compiled a list of 10 good cars that have been rumored to be discontinued. If they are on your list of potential car purchases, you'd better act quickly!
The first car to appear is my own vehicle - the Cadillac CT4. According to various sources, the CT4 has basically been discontinued, and the monthly sales of a few hundred units are almost all the remaining inventory. To be honest, I am not surprised by this outcome, because when I tested and decided to buy it more than three years ago, I had already anticipated this result.
Although the CT4 lacks Brembo calipers, PS4S tires, MRC electromagnetic shock absorbers, and e-LSD rear differential limited-slip differential compared to the CT5 on the same platform, its smaller body size gives it more agile handling and better power performance than the CT5. Moreover, to further reflect the purity of the CT4, it did not extend the wheelbase by 85mm like its predecessor ATS, but continued the 2775mm wheelbase of the standard wheelbase ATS. However, precisely because of the short wheelbase and rear-wheel drive, the rear space of the CT4 is not only incomparable to the extended "34C" of the BFA, but it also has no advantage compared to A-class sedans like the Mazda 3.
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More importantly, the price of the CT4 is not much cheaper than the CT5, with only about a 20,000 yuan difference between the top configuration of the CT4 and the low configuration of the CT5. For most consumers, the CT5 is obviously superior to the CT4 in terms of appearance and interior space. In addition, the new CT5 comes standard with L2 assisted driving, a 33-inch 9K large screen interior, and the official price has been reduced to a starting price of 219,700 yuan, which is directly in line with the guide price of the 1.5T CT4. With this round of increased configuration and price reduction, the CT4 has no living environment. Of course, if you want to buy a flexible and easy-to-drive rear-wheel-drive sedan and have no requirements for practicality, then the CT4, which is now only tens of thousands of yuan after the discount, is still very worth buying at the bottom.Another vehicle facing the same issue is the Chevrolet Malibu XL, a car under General Motors, hailed as the king of handling for civilian B-class cars. Thanks to the outstanding power of the 2.0T engine and the 245mm wide Continental MC5 tires equipped from the factory, the Malibu XL has excellent performance whether it's running in the mountains or on the track, which is very much in line with Chevrolet's brand positioning in the global market. Unfortunately, Chevrolet's brand positioning in China is not the same as internationally. The cheap cars in the early years and the strategic direction of the three General Motors brands, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac, ultimately led to Chevrolet being the cheapest in the General Motors lineup in China.
However, the failure of the Malibu XL is not entirely due to brand factors; the car itself also has some shortcomings. The biggest issue is the interior, which consumers at this price point value highly. As a model released in 2015 and with a mid-term facelift at the end of 2018, the Malibu XL's interior was not even impressive at the time. If we look at it today in 2024, it is actually somewhat outdated.
Although the brand and the product itself have certain flaws, the Malibu XL is still a good car. Coupled with the dealers' significant discounts, its sales in the past few years were not very hot, but still acceptable. Unfortunately, in the past two years, domestic new energy vehicles have taken the market by storm, squeezing the already small survival space of the Malibu XL. Since the end of last year, monthly sales have fallen below the 1,000 mark, and in March, they only sold over 200 units. With such low sales, it's no wonder that rumors are circulating that the Malibu XL will be discontinued. In fact, the discontinuation of the Malibu XL is entirely expected, not only because of the low sales but also because of its life cycle. After all, it was released in November 2015 and launched in February 2016, making it an 8-year-old car.
If I don't mention it, I'm afraid many friends may not know that the Peugeot 2008 is still on sale in China. Although in the first decade of this century, French cars had good sales and influence in China, with the expansion of Japanese and German cars and the rise of domestic brands, French cars have now been completely marginalized in China. The current Peugeot 2008 on sale is a model launched by Dongfeng Peugeot in May 2020, equipped with a 1.2T three-cylinder engine and a 6-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, priced at 97,000 yuan.
Seeing the three-cylinder engine almost doomed its fate. With the rise of domestic new energy models, almost all models priced under 100,000 yuan have been squeezed by domestic new energy, and the naturally niche Peugeot 2008 is naturally hard to escape the fate. Faced with this situation, news of the Peugeot 2008's discontinuation is pouring in, but it is still possible to buy a new car, provided there is a Peugeot dealer in your city...Among the models facing discontinuation, the Honda Lingpai is quite surprising. After the first-generation Lingpai was launched in early 2013, it achieved impressive sales with its class-leading space and Honda's brand reputation. Even though it used the Fit's chassis and a 1.8L+5AT powertrain that was not considered advanced at the time. In 2018, Honda launched the second-generation Lingpai, which continued the previous generation's large rear space and even some details of the ride experience that could reach the level of a B-class sedan. Despite using a 1.0T three-cylinder engine that was not well-received at the time, it still maintained a monthly sales level of 10,000 units with significant discounts and the subsequent addition of a 1.5L hybrid version.
However, with the appearance of BYD's Qin PLUS DM-i in 2021, Lingpai suffered from the disadvantages of configuration and policy. The former not only has fuel consumption and power that are not inferior to Lingpai, but also enjoys the policy of exemption from license plates in many cities, and no purchase tax is required when buying a car. Such advantages are irresistible for consumers in the 100,000 yuan price range. In the end, Lingpai's sales also plummeted, from a level of over 10,000 at that time to a monthly sales of less than 100 units, and it is said that many places no longer accept orders. Of course, if you are not interested in new energy and just want a hybrid sedan with a large space, fuel efficiency, and peace of mind, then looking for the remaining Lingpai hybrid models is actually a good choice.
In the era of the current electrification trend, even if the sales of electric vehicles that keep up with the trend are not as expected, they will basically not spread rumors of being discontinued. However, there is such a car that has been rumored to be about to be discontinued less than two years after its launch, and that is the Mercedes-Benz EQE, which was only launched in August 2022.
Unlike the early Mercedes-Benz EQC and other oil-to-electric models, the EQE uses Mercedes-Benz's EVA pure electric platform, so it is obviously better than the previous EQ series in both theory and feeling. And Mercedes-Benz's tuning of the vehicle also allows the EQE, even with a car weight of 2.4 tons, to still bring a very high-level chassis texture by using traditional steel coil springs, and it also has an excellent driving experience from Stuttgart. In addition, the strange shape design of the EQE also brings it excellent energy consumption performance, with a large battery of 96.1kWh, which can easily achieve a high-speed endurance of more than 500km.Unfortunately, the EQE, which is based on a pure electric platform, like almost all electric sedans, struggles to provide a comfortable and spacious rear seat space, and the practicality of the trunk is also quite limited. In China, a luxury car priced at 400,000 to 500,000 yuan cannot afford to give up practicality. As a result, the EQE quickly cooled down after its launch and had no presence in the market. Perhaps realizing the failure of the EQE's market positioning, Beijing Benz launched the EQE SUV model just over half a year after the EQE's launch. The new car not only has far more space and practicality than the sedan version of the EQE, but also comes standard with four-wheel drive in the entry-level version, with a starting price of 486,000 yuan, which is even 42,000 yuan lower than when the EQE was launched. Faced with such a situation, the EQE can only survive with huge discounts. In addition to the official guide price being reduced by 50,000 yuan, the terminal discounts are directly below 300,000 yuan, and some secondary dealers have even offered policies of more than 200,000 yuan including the license plate. However, despite this, the sales of the EQE are still difficult to recover. After this series of operations, the news of the EQE's discontinuation was finally heard. After all, as an old luxury car company, selling cars at a loss does not conform to Benz's sales policy.
Due to the BMW X1 with the code name F49 adopting a strategy of extending the space, the BMW entry-level model that once took into account control while also being an SUV has a vacancy. Against such a market background, the BMW X2 came into being and was introduced to the domestic market at the same time. Compared with the X1, which has undergone the unique "surgery" of lengthening in the country, the X2 is very authentic and has a much lower shape, which looks more sporty than the X1.
However, in the Chinese market where the rear seat is large, the sales of the X2 are not successful. It seems that the blank market segment created by the appearance of the long-shaft X1 does not exist in the domestic market. Therefore, when the new generation of BMW X2 was released, BMW wisely gave up this model and chose to sell it by import. However, due to the new X2 just being launched and the previous generation's sales being low, the previous generation of domestic BMW X2 is currently being cleared out. Even the 2.0T four-wheel drive model with a price of 332,900 yuan can now be landed for less than 200,000 yuan. Friends who like it can rush to buy it. Once this opportunity is missed, it will not come again.
Indeed, Toyota is not as good in the domestic market as it was a few years ago, but the thin camel is still bigger than the horse. In 2023, the North and South Toyota still sold 1.7 million new cars, ranking third in the whole brand, only behind the North and South Volkswagen and the rising BYD. However, among the many models sold by Toyota in China, there are two models that have always had poor sales, which are the Toyota Venza and its sister car Ling Fang.For Toyota consumers, they do not particularly care about exterior design; cost-effectiveness and practicality are more important instead. Therefore, even though the Harrier and Venza, which adopt a coupe-like style, have quite outstanding exterior designs in the Toyota lineup, they have not won much favor from consumers. Coupled with the fact that the wheelbase is exactly the same as the RAV4 and Highlander, the larger exterior size did not bring a larger interior space. That is to say, the extra price of the Venza and Harrier is almost for the exterior that consumers are not very interested in, as well as slightly better interiors, and the sales volume naturally cannot meet expectations.
Under the above factors, the sales volume of Venza and Harrier has been mediocre since their launch, with the highest monthly sales volume of a single model being only 3,000 units, and has been stable around 1,000 units. After struggling for about two years, it is currently seen from some potential owners' messages that Venza and Harrier no longer accept production orders, and it should be that the new car has stopped production and only sells inventory models.
In the era of fuel vehicles, Great Wall, which was once very popular, was slow to transform, leading to many products being discontinued hastily after one or two years of release. However, for Great Wall's new energy vehicles, it seems that this situation has also occurred, and it is the Haval Xiaolong. In May last year, the small-sized Xiaolong and the large-sized Xiaolong MAX were launched together, with Xiaolong using a 1.5L+2DHT front-wheel drive plug-in hybrid, while Xiaolong MAX is a Hi4 four-wheel drive plug-in hybrid. However, there is not much price difference between Xiaolong MAX and Xiaolong, leading to Xiaolong having no voice after its launch, and even many people do not know that there is a Xiaolong with a cheaper price and smaller size on sale.
So after nearly a year of sales, this small-sized Xiaolong has been reported to have been discontinued, leaving only the Xiaolong MAX with higher sales volume, larger size, and more suitable for most people. However, 4S stores still sell Xiaolong models, and the official has not explicitly stated that this car will be discontinued, and the current terminal discount is quite large, and the cost-effectiveness is still good.Volkswagen, with its wide range of models, is currently facing a production halt for a particular vehicle. Surprisingly, it's not the Polo, which has been struggling against small electric vehicles, but the once-leading compact MPV model, the Volkswagen Touran. From today's perspective, especially with a discount of around 30,000 yuan, the Touran still has strong competitiveness. However, due to its long time on the market and niche positioning, many consumers are unaware of this model, and some 4S stores don't even have a display car.
Unlike the aforementioned vehicles, the Volkswagen Touran is still available for purchase, but the factory has adopted a demand-based production method. It's difficult for consumers to buy a car from a 4S store, and the waiting time is basically around 3-4 weeks. So if you like the Touran, buy it as soon as possible. It's uncertain when SAIC Volkswagen will stop taking orders.
Although it's a basic consensus that the fuel-powered mini-car market has shrunk in recent years, many people may not have imagined that the once benchmark product, the Honda Fit, would also face the risk of production suspension. As a former owner of the 3rd generation Fit, I feel a bit nostalgic. However, upon further reflection, if I had a budget of 100,000 yuan in 2024, would I still buy a Fit? I think the answer is probably no. In fact, the end of the Fit is not due to its own shortcomings, as it performs well in terms of space, power, fuel consumption, and drivability, apart from configuration and NVH.
Unfortunately, under the tide of license plate restrictions, purchase restrictions, and price wars, traditional fuel-powered mini-cars like the Fit do not have advantages in terms of license plate policies or prices. Many consumers in cities with license plate restrictions are unwilling to "waste" a precious gasoline quota to buy a small Fit, while consumers in areas without license plate restrictions can choose larger sedans such as the Sylphy, Corolla, or Qin PLUS at the same price, which has compressed the already limited survival space of the Fit.Of course, if you simply want to buy a spacious, fuel-efficient, and easy-to-drive car for commuting, and you don't want to endure the weak power and poor range of A0-level electric vehicles, then the Fit remains the best choice for you at a price of 100,000 yuan. However, you have to hurry up!
In many love stories, there is basically such a sentence: "Only after losing do we know how to cherish." This sentence is also applicable to the car market. When the Reiz, Jied, 86/BRZ were discontinued or withdrew from the Chinese market, there was almost a significant increase in the prices of second-hand cars, and many potential consumers regretted it so much that they slapped their thighs red. Therefore, in today's chaotic era of the domestic car market, whether to stop production is a matter of a moment's thought, so if you like it, grab it quickly!
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