These cars were only sold once in 2021

the list back benchers is in any case quite varied. After all, what other list could a Citroën C-Zero be next to a Ford GT? The two cars could hardly be more different: a small EV and a supercar with a roaring V6 in the middle. They have one thing in common: they were both registered only once in 2021. The Ford GT went to 90-year-old Henk Dekker, owner of the Dekker Autogroep. In the case of the C-Zero, this is due to the model’s phasing out. Mitsubishi already stopped with the i-MiEV related to the C-Zero in 2019, but Citroën had the compact EV in the order books for a while. The curtain now seems to have fallen for the C-Zero. With 14 registered copies, 2020 was also not a top year for the plugged-in city rascal.

Once one of the most popular boys in the class, now all alone in the showroom.

Other models that will permanently disappear from the sales list after 2021 are the Mercedes-Benz SLC, Volvo V40 and Seat Alhambra. Six – undoubtedly happy – owners of the SLC roadster were handed the keys in 2020, a year later that was only a single individual. If you now want a new convertible with a star in the grille, you should move to the larger C- and E-class convertible or the much more expensive SL. With the Volvo V40, the difference compared to 2020 of all cars in the list is the largest. Volvo’s compact hatchback already retired in 2020. Apparently one new copy was waiting for a new owner at the beginning of 2021, alone among all the immensely popular XC40s in the showroom. A similar pattern emerged at the Seat Alhambra. Seat already stopped production of the MPV in 2020, but nevertheless one car was able to stretch its registration to 2021.

This makes a Seat Alhambra as exclusive as a Rolls-Royce Dawn, because only two new copies of both cars received a license plate in the past two years. Incidentally, there are also models in this list that actually improved in 2021. In addition to the aforementioned Ford GT, these are the Bentley Mulsanne, McLaren 720S and Lotus Evora. Then you are talking about an outside category of cars. The Mulsanne already waved off in 2020 and the Lotus Evora had to clear the field just before Christmas. The 720S is still being sold.

Then two Italians remain: the Maserati Quattroporte and the Fiat Ducato. Italian car brands often have quite a knack for extending the expiration date of models endlessly. The Quattroporte received a model year update at the end of 2020, but has been running since the end of 2012. The model year update has in any case not led to more registrations in 2021. The same goes for the Fiat Ducato, which received a facelift in the past year. The company car is not very popular, because in 2020 only 19 copies also received a new license plate. Maybe it’s time for a thorough renovation cure under the wings of Stellantis?

The laggards of 2021

For those wondering where the ‘De Vlucht Strip’ section has gone: that section will not return in 2022. The variety of background articles during the weekend has increased, so that the need for the section has disappeared. Instead, we publish an extra background story every week, but no longer in ‘De Vlucht Strip’.