We said goodbye to these cars in 2023

Audi A7 Sportback

Audi cut the A7 Sportback from the Dutch delivery range. The more expensive liftback alternative to the A6 is still being produced and is therefore still available outside the Netherlands. In 2010, Audi introduced the first A7 Sportback in our country, the second generation appeared in 2017 and ultimately did not reach the end of 2023. The A7 family will eventually become a lot more extensive, because the A6 models with combustion engines will be added to the A7 family after the upcoming generation change to make way for the electric A6 e-tron and A6 Avant e-tron. Between 2010 and 2023, 1,809 A7 Sportbacks were delivered in the Netherlands.

Audi TT

It had been up in the air for a while, but 2023 was really the year when the curtain finally fell for the TT. And not just in the Netherlands. Production of the Audi TT has stopped and the production site that has become available in Györ, Hungary, is for the Cupra Terramar. The Terramar is a technical brother of the soon-to-be new Audi Q3, which – just like the current Q3 – is also produced there. A total of just over 5,000 TTs were delivered in the Netherlands. The majority of them were first-generation Audi TTs. The big sporty brother of the TT also does not have a long life. The Audi R8 is on its last legs and appears to be taken off the market in 2024.

Audi TT

BMW 6 Series GT

Do you remember the somewhat peculiar BMW 5-series GT? In 2017, that car made way for the 6-series GT, which did little to change the concept of its predecessor. It has not been a success anywhere, not even in the Netherlands. Production of the otherwise very practical 6-series GT has now stopped. About 600 copies found a Dutch owner.

BMW 6 Series GT

Fiat Tipo

The Fiat Tipo is still happily off the production line in Turkey, but is no longer for sale in the Netherlands. The Tipo, introduced in 2017 and elsewhere called Egea or even Dodge Neon, was available as a sedan, hatchback and as a station wagon, although the Tipo Sedan was already removed from the Dutch delivery range in 2018. The hatchback and station wagon will disappear in 2023. The Tipo that Fiat sold in the Netherlands from 1988 and until the mid-1990s sold more than 30,000 units here, the ‘reborn Tipo’ sold just under 2,100 units. The Tipo may find a successor in 2025 in a crossover-like format. It could be that the Tipo returns to the Netherlands in its new form.

Fiat Tipo

Ford Fiesta and Explorer

Ford announced the end of the Fiesta in 2023. The little brother of the Escort and later the Focus, which has been extremely popular for decades, is no longer built and is no longer available. The last units rolled off the production line in Cologne in July. Counting since 1983, more than 305,000 Ford Fiesta have been delivered in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, we do not have Dutch registration figures from between 1976 – the year in which the first one came on the market – and 1983. Goodbye Fiesta, the end of an era. Will there be a successor? That is not entirely clear yet. Another Ford that we said goodbye to in 2023 is the large Explorer. The Explorer, which was only supplied as a plug-in in the Netherlands, is making way for the significantly smaller and fully electric Explorer on Volkswagen’s MEB basis.

Honda E

The Honda E, which is as electric as it is cuddly, is no more. Honda has withdrawn its relatively pricey compact EV from the market in Europe. Overloaded with retro design and therefore purebred lifestyle EV was presented in 2019. In his career, which lasted approximately four years, fewer than 170 copies found an owner in the Netherlands. Honda will mainly focus on electric crossovers and SUVs in Europe for the time being. At the end of 2022, Honda announced the end of its model at the other end of the spectrum: the NSX. The last copies have now been built.

Honda E

Kia Rio

After 23 years, a Kia called Rio has also come to an end in the Netherlands. The last generation of the Rio was presented in 2017 and was removed from the Dutch delivery range this year. Sister brand Hyundai still sells a B-segment car in the Netherlands: the i20. However, the current Hyundai i20 is a generation younger than the now disappeared Rio. While the i20 is on the younger K2 platform, the last Rio was still related to the previous generation i20. Nothing is yet known about a direct successor to the Rio. For the time being, the Stonic has to pull Kia’s cart in the so-called B-segment. More than 50,000 Rios were delivered in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2023, spread over various generations.

Jaguar F type

It will still be built for a while, but soon the curtain will fall for the Jaguar F-type. Jaguar has presented a special farewell edition with which it not only kisses the F-type goodbye, but also brings the concept of a sporty Jaguar with a combustion engine to the afterlife. The Jaguar F-type was presented in open form in 2012 and was also available as a Coupé not much later. A total of 549 copies are registered in the Netherlands. The F-type was facelifted several times, even quite radically in 2019.

Jaguar F type

Mercedes-Benz: CLS, EQC and C- and E-class Coupé and Cabriolet

The electric Mercedes-Benz EQC was introduced to the Dutch market in 2019 and was removed from it in 2023. The electric SUV accounted for just under 1,500 registrations in total. The EQC will not remain without a successor, although it remains to be seen whether its replacement still carries an EQ model name. The EQC is not the only Mercedes-Benz that disappeared. For example, the CLS will go out of production in 2023, the G-class can no longer be ordered, the AMG GT Roadster has had to make way for the new SL and the Coupé and Cabrio versions of the previous C- and E-class have been discontinued. replaced by the CLE.

Mercedes Benz CLS

Mitsubishi Space Star

Just leave the tissues in the box for a while. The Mitsubishi Space Star is still available for a while, but the end of one of the cheapest cars in the Netherlands is in sight. The Space Star cannot complain about a short career. After all, he has been around since 2013.

Mini Clubman

Following the Mitsubishi Space Star, we have another model that will not last long. Mini will remove the Clubman from its model range in 2024. In any case, the Mini Clubman can still be ordered until his possible departure.

Mini Clubman

Nissan Micra and Leaf

The Nissan Micra is no more. At least, not for a while. In 2023 we said goodbye to the fifth generation (K16) of the model. The car will not remain without a successor. Nissan is launching a replacement for the model based on the electric Renault 5. Another Nissan that will probably disappear briefly in 2024 is electrical pioneer Leaf. A more SUV-like Leaf is in the works to replace it, but the current model will disappear before it arrives.

Nissan Micra

Porsche Macan and Panamera Sport Turismo

The Porsche Macan as you know it now would be sold alongside the upcoming electric Macan, but that is not going to happen. The current Macan will disappear from the market next year. Another model that will not return is the Panamera Sport Turismo. The new generation Porsche Panamera has only been presented as a liftback and will no longer have a more practically shaped Sport Turismo next to it.

Smart ForTwo and ForFour

Smart, injected with Chinese capital, has #1 and #3. The Smart ForFour disappeared from the market in 2022 and in 2023 we had to say goodbye to the ForTwo and the ForTwo Cabrio. In their final phase of life, both only existed as electric EQ. In 2024, Smart says it will launch the #2, a smaller model that will replace the ForTwo. Just like the ForTwo, the Smart #2 will also be a two-seater.

Renault Twingo and Zoe

In its final phase of life, the Renault Twingo only existed in the Netherlands as an electric Twingo Electric, but that is also no longer available. The Renault Zoe is also disappearing, although it is still for sale for a while. The Renault Zoe will be replaced by the electric Renault 5 in 2024. A new electric retro Twingo will be available in 2026.

Volkswagen Up and Passat Sedan

It lasted longer than initially thought, but after about twelve years, the Volkswagen Up actually went out of production in mid-2023. Until Volkswagen comes with its promised EV of around €20,000, Volkswagen does not have a model that replaces the Up. In total, almost 99,000 Upjes were delivered in the Netherlands. Sister models Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii disappeared from the market much earlier. Another Volkswagen that has disappeared is a significant size larger than the Up. We are talking about the Passat Sedan. The new Volkswagen Passat is only available as a Variant.

Volkswagen Up

And further?

Autoland loses more names. This year, for example, the very last Chevrolet Camaro was built this year and Dodge has pulled the plugs on the Challenger, Charger and Durango, although Dodge has an electric successor in the pipeline for the Charger, among others. The second generation Chrysler 300C – which was also delivered in the Netherlands as a Lancia Thema – also had to die. Ferrari has hung up the Portofino M and the F8 Tributo is also no longer built. Furthermore, not only has the Dutch solar car Lightyear been taken out of existence, but the German solar car Sono Sion has also disappeared, even before the first production models have been built. We also know that Volvo will remove the S60 and V60 from its delivery range next year.