Cars, SUVs discontinued in 2022

2022 has seen its fair share of launches, but it also saw a bunch of cars being discontinued. Many of these were discontinued as they reached the end of their life cycle or were too outdated compared to their more modern rivals. Whereas, others were discontinued as they were uneconomical to be kept on sale. Here’s a list of cars that were killed off in 2022.

Datsun Go, Go+, Redigo

While this list is about cars that were discontinued, Datsun as a whole also exited the Indian market. Nissan decided to pull the plug on its Datsun brand in April this year and with it, took the Go, Go+ and Redigo. This came after the brand announced its global strategy of discontinuing the brand globally. Furthermore, poor sales was also one of the reasons to exit the market as in the 12-month period between January and December 2021, Datsun managed to sell only 4,296 units. In contrast, Renault sold more than 30,000 units each of the Kwid Triber in the same period.

Mahindra Alturas G4

Mahindra silently discontinued the Alturas G4 in India recently by delisting the SUV on its website. The Alturas G4 barely made a dent in Mahindra’s sales figures and a lack of significant updates meant it failed to attract prospective buyers. Towards the end, the Alturas G4 was offered in a single, fully-loaded 4x2 High variant – launched in September – that replaced the erstwhile 4x2 and 4x4 variants. Since Mahindra sold the SsangYong brand recently, a lack of CKD (completely knocked down) kits also explains why the production of the SUV was stopped. The upcoming RDE norms could also be the final nail in the coffin for the Alturas G4, as recalibrating a slow-selling model would have been expensive.

Maruti Suzuki S-Cross

Introduced back in 2015, the S-Cross also started the Nexa chain of dealerships for Maruti Suzuki. The brand sold 1.69 lakh units of the S-Cross since its launch. It rivalled the popular-at-the-time Renault Duster and Hyundai Creta in the booming midsize SUV segment. Initially, it was offered with two Fiat-sourced diesel engines – a 89hp 1.3-litre unit and 117hp 1.6-litre unit. In 2020, Maruti Suzuki let go off the diesel engines and the S-Cross was powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine subsequently. While globally, a newer model of the S-Cross was unveiled last year, Maruti pulled the plug on the S-Cross in India to make way for its new flagship, the Grand Vitara.

Hyundai Grand i10 Nios/ Aura diesel

The Grand i10 Nios as well as the Aura were the most efficient diesel engines in their segments, with both getting an efficiency of 25kpl (claimed). Changing consumer preference from petrol to diesel, low sales and the high cost of re-engineering the diesel engines for the RDE norms could be the reasons Hyundai decided to pull the plug on the diesel engine from these two models. Now, both are offered with a choice of petrol, turbo-petrol and CNG powertrains.

Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai Elantra was the second last executive sedan available in India, with the final one – Skoda Octavia – bowing out next year. The Elantra was the biggest sedan Hyundai offered in India and was last updated in 2019. Hyundai silently discontinued the car this year and has no plans to bring it back since the brand says the next-gen Verna will be big enough to cover the midsize and executive sedan segments.

Hyundai Santro

The original Santro, launched in 1998, was a game-changer for Hyundai in India. However, the second generation that hit the market 20 years later failed to match the success of its predecessor. Despite enjoying good sales initially, the Santro couldn’t match up to its entry-level hatchback segment rivals due to its higher price. At launch, its higher variants were pricier than the now-discontinued Grand i10, which offered more space and a more powerful engine. Other reasons for this could be the government’s new norms on mandatory six airbags and upcoming real driving emissions (RDE) norms, which made re-engineering the car an expensive ordeal.

Renault Duster

Renault introduced the Duster in India in 2012 and it went on to become the most popular offering by the French brand as it sold nearly 40,000 units in its first year of production. The Duster was also the SUV that kickstarted the monocoque midsize SUV segment in India which has now become a very popular segment in the country. While it was launched with a 1.6-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel, Renault also offered the Duster with a 1.5-litre petrol and a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine later on and discontinued the diesel. The Duster also got an all-wheel drive system that was popular with SUV enthusiasts. It received few updates during the decade it was on sale, which is why it became outdated in comparison to its rivals.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

The only car on this list with the shortest life – spanning just two years – the Toyota Urban Cruiser was a rebadged version of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. It managed average sales of 2,200 units per month. A reason for Toyota pulling the plug on the Urban Cruiser could be that reengineering the new Brezza would demand a hefty premium of the Maruti and bring the price closer to the Urban Cruiser Hyryder.

Volkswagen Polo

One of the most revered hatchbacks by auto enthusiasts, the Volkswagen Polo was discontinued in India after a 12-year stint. It was also the brand’s most popular model here with over 2.5 million units sold. Over the course of its life, the Polo received multiple updates, cosmetically and mechanically, with India also getting the high-performance Polo GTI, albeit in limited numbers. Dwindling sales and its age meant it was time for the Polo to bid adieu but in the larger scheme of things, it was discontinued to streamline production for Volkswagen.