The Kia Niro was the most popular new car in the Netherlands in 2021. But if we forget last year’s sales toppers and look at the losers, what do we see? A number of striking models that (almost) no one wanted.
Not so few new cars have been sold since the 1960s as in 2021. The counter remained at 322,831 copies. That is 9.2 percent less than in 2020 (355,431) and no less than 28 percent less than in 2019. Kia (30,028 cars) was on track to become the best-selling brand in the Netherlands in 2021, but Volkswagen (31,059) has a final sprint just took the lead. The most popular car was again the Kia Niro (10,812). But what were the losers from 2021?
Aiways U5 – 11 copies
You can see how fickle the market for electric cars is. In 2020 – when the Chinese brand Aiways debuted in the Netherlands – 428 copies of the Aiways U5 were registered. Last year only 11. And that while the U5 could still benefit from low addition.
Audi A7 – 17 copies
Large four-door coupé models have become obsolete. About fifteen years ago they were suddenly very popular, but since then it has gone steadily downhill. We would be surprised if there is a successor for the Audi A7. In the Netherlands, in any case, it went from 59 copies sold in 2020 to only 17 in 2021. And that makes it just as bad as the Mercedes CLS.
Ford Mustang – 5 copies
New! The Ford Mustang is not a loser. The fact that 16 units were still sold to Dutch people in 2020 and only 5 last year is simply a miracle. The four-cylinder Mustang is no longer supplied with us, so that means that a handful of compatriots have paid more than 100,000 euros for a V8. Kudos for that!
Jaguar I-Pace – 17 copies
At Jaguar, we can choose. Do we take the XE (from 78 to 17), the XF (from 99 to 23), or the I-Pace? We go for the latter, because the decline that the British plug-in SUV has set is impressive. Jaguar managed to sell 460 of these in 2020. Last year…no more than 17.
Kia Stinger – 1 copy
In Nijmegen, at the head office of Autoreview.nl, we are going to erect a statue. A bronze bust of that one hero who bought a Kia Stinger in 2021. Because a hero, he is! The Stinger is a great looking driver’s car, with a big V6 in the front and rear-wheel drive. That also makes it very expensive for a Kia: almost 95,000 euros.
Ssangyong Tivoli – 0 copies
We had to check the Ssangyong website just to be sure: will the Tivoli still be delivered in the Netherlands? And the answer is yes. Only there was no question of delivery in 2021, because no one at all bought the compact crossover from Korea. In the year before, 5 more people were so brave.
Suzuki Jimny – 4 copies
Say, what’s the matter with you? The Suzuki Jimny deserves more than this! But we have to admit that that is also up to Suzuki itself. The brand only supplies the Jimny as a two-seater commercial vehicle (to avoid the high bpm) and with that it only attracted 4 buyers in 2021. A year earlier, there were 63.
Tesla Model X – 2 copies
Tesla is doing excellent, we read every quarter. But in all honesty it must be said that the American company mainly manages with the Model 3 and Model Y. The Tesla Model S and Model X are not going so well, not even in the Netherlands. The Model S went from 292 lease drivers to just 4. And the Model X from 292 to 2. Phew!