With 2021 done and dusted, it’s time to look at the cars we lost during the course of that eventful year.
While 2021 was host to a slew of important new car model launches, it also saw a number of favourites depart Australia.
From manual transmission options and specific variants being dropped, to a new Australian Design Rule that killed up to six different models, here’s a summary of every new car that left Australian showrooms – or had its local axing announced – in 2021.
Note: This story focuses on cars that had their discontinuations announced in 2021, rather than their last new example sold (such as the Jaguar XJ, Toyota FJ Cruiser or Subaru Liberty).
Models that are being directly replaced by a new-generation vehicle with an identical name will not be counted as discontinued – but those that are substantially different vehicles with new names will.
Alfa Romeo 4C
Alfa Romeo discontinued its lightweight 4C sports car earlier in 2021, after up to six years on sale in Coupe and Spider convertible forms. Marking the end of the breed was 15 examples (10 Coupes and five Spiders) of a 33 Stradale Tributo special edition, with red paint, gold wheels, carbon-fibre accents, and other heritage-themed upgrades.
VFACTS industry sales figures report 17 examples as sold across the first 11 months of 2021, compared with seven throughout all of 2020, and 29 in 2019.
MORE: 2021 Alfa Romeo 4C 33 Stradale Tributo price and specs
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Despite repeated reports of production ending in 2019 and 2020, Alfa Romeo finally waved goodbye to its ageing Giulietta hatch in May, with the introduction of a limited-run Edizione Finale (or ‘final edition’) variant. 83 Giuliettas were sold across the first 11 months of 2021.
MORE: 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Edizione Finale price and specs
Alpine A110
A casualty of Australian Design Rule 85 side-impact crash test regulations, the final examples of the Alpine A110 sports car arrived on local shores before November 2021.
France’s answer to the Porsche 718 Cayman (and the Alfa Romeo 4C), the A110 was launched in 2018 as the first new model from the revived Alpine sports car brand – though with four-cylinder power only and a relatively-unknown model name, only 101 examples have been sold between its September 2018 launch, and the end of November 2021.
MORE: Alpine A110 sports car axed in Australia
Audi R8
News of the Audi R8’s axing broke in late September – but rather than the safety rules that killed the Alpine A110 and Nissan GT-R exotics, it’s emissions that are to blame for the flagship Audi’s demise.
The 397kW/540Nm and 449kW/560Nm tunes of the 5.2-litre V10 used in Australian cars are no longer being produced – neither of which was equipped with a petrol particulate filter – and niche sales likely made homologating a new engine tune uneconomical.
VFACTS industry sales figures report 34 examples of the R8 as sold over the first 11 months of 2021 – down on the 103 shifted in the supercar’s best sales year, 2008.
MORE: Audi R8 dead in Australia
BMW i3
BMW’s oldest model on sale, the i3 electric vehicle, was discontinued in the US earlier in 2021, with confirmation that Australia would follow suit arriving shortly after.
Now available solely in sporty i3s guise ($71,900 before on-road costs), the i3 was one of the more innovative members of BMW’s line-up at the time of its launch – but it has since been outpaced by newer and more affordable competitors, and is under threat from BMW’s own next-generation i4, iX and iX3 electric cars.
MORE: BMW i3 electric car discontinued in Australia
Citroen C3 Aircross
Despite competing in one of Australia’s most popular new car segments, the Citroen C3 Aircross ‘light’ SUV was dropped from the French brand’s local range in 2021.
Some fans might have seen the writing on the wall early in 2021, when the facelifted C3 Aircross was only confirmed to be “under consideration” for our market. With 65 sales recorded across the first eight months of 2021 (albeit 32 per cent of total sales of the three-model range), and the larger C4 on the horizon, Citroen Australia withdrew the model from sale.
MORE: Citroen C3 Aircross dead in Australia
Chrysler 300 (and the entire brand)
After quietly pulling its last model from sale in January 2021, Chrysler officially announced its departure from the Australian market in November.
Chrysler sales have dropped off since the brand’s peak in the 1970s – during the height of the locally-built Valiant, when approximately 50,000 cars were produced annually – with 162 vehicles recorded as sold across the first 11 months of 2021, and only a handful left in the dealer network.
The decline in sales has coincided with a narrowing of Chrysler’s model range, from four models and 3609 sales in 2006, to the upper large 300 sedan that sits alone in showrooms today.
MORE: Chrysler brand axed in Australia
Fiat 500X and Doblo
The plug was pulled on the Fiat 500X small SUV and Doblo van early in 2021, leaving the Ducato large van and 500 city car as Fiat Australia’s sole remaining models.
Ford Focus ST-Line and Active
Ford Australia has opted only to import the high-performance ST when the facelifted Focus small car line-up arrives next year – despite the ST-Line and Active accounting for 60 per cent of sales – amid slowing sales of small cars, and performance models accounting for increasing percentages of hatchback sales.
Industry data reports 694 Focus examples as sold across the first 11 months of 2021 (until the end of November).
MORE: 2022 Ford Focus: Standard range axed
Haval H2 and H9
The arrival of the Haval Jolion saw time called on the small H2 SUV – 1979 examples of which were sold across the first 11 months of 2021, amid growing sales of affordable Chinese cars.
The Haval H9 was discontinued earlier in December 2021 – with the Great Wall Motors conglomerate’s new Tank four-wheel-drive brand expected to fill its place next year.
MORE: Haval H9 SUV pulled from Australian market
Hyundai iLoad and iMax
The ageing Hyundai iLoad van and iMax people mover were replaced in mid-2021 by a new Staria range, comprising eight-seat people mover and Load van options.
Lexus IS, RC and CT
The first confirmed victims of the ADR 85 safety regulations, the Lexus IS medium sedan, Lexus RC coupe and Lexus CT hatchback were axed mid-year – despite the IS undergoing a heavy facelift less than 12 months prior.
Sales figures for the trio across the first 11 months of 2021 (according to VFACTS data) sit at 1127 for the IS, 157 for the RC, and 77 for the CT.
MORE: Axed: Lexus IS sedan, RC coupe and CT hatch dropped
Lotus Elise, Exige and Evora
After decades of service, Lotus has discontinued all three of its sports car lines. The Elise, Exige and Evora will all be indirectly replaced by a new model, the Emira, which will serve as the British brand’s last petrol-powered model.
Sales of the trio (according to VFACTS data) to the end of November total 65 vehicles, comprising 18 Elises, one Evora and 46 Exiges.
McLaren Sports Series
The arrival of the new McLaren Artura in 2022 means the existing range of Sports Series cars – including the 540C, 570GT, 570S, 600LT and 620R nameplates – will be discontinued.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class wagon
Mercedes-Benz has become the first of the German big three to axe its mid-size wagon, with the new C-Class range due in 2022 to comprise the sedan body style only. Approximately five per cent of C-Class sales are wagons, Mercedes says.
MORE: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class wagon not coming to Australia
MORE: Load luggers: Every new wagon you can buy in Australia
Mercedes-AMG GT
Order books for the current Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe and Roadster closed in late 2021 – though drop-top buyers will be pleased to hear there’s a new SL roadster on the horizon. A new-generation AMG GT coupe is slated to follow in 2023 or 2024, though spy photos are yet to emerge.
MORE: Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe and Roadster order books close in Australia
Mitsubishi Mirage
Another victim of ADR 85 regulations, the Mitsubishi Mirage’s age – and declining micro car sales, amid the Kia Picanto’s dominance – meant its Japanese maker decided not to invest in structural upgrades, prior to the November 2021 deadline.
Following a spike in recorded sales in November – as a large batch of cars was registered and sold, following the November 1 cut-off for official certification – a total of 1550 Mirages were recorded as sold across the first 11 months of 2021. Stock is expected to last until the middle of 2022.
MORE: Mitsubishi Mirage discontinued in Australia
Nissan 370Z and GT-R
Both of Nissan’s sports car nameplates met their ends in 2021 – but whereas the 370Z was being phased out ahead of a new model (with a new name) in 2022, the GT-R was yet another casualty of the introduction of ADR 85 rules.
VFACTS sales data reports 242 examples of the 370Z as sold to the end of November 2021, compared with 64 GT-Rs – the latter bolstered by a batch of 50 T-Spec and Nismo SV final edition variants.
MORE: Godzilla is dead: Nissan GT-R axed in Australia
Subaru Levorg
While the Levorg name is technically disappearing from Australian showrooms, the upcoming WRX Sportswagon that will replace it next year is known as a Levorg overseas.
MORE: 2022 Subaru WRX Sportswagon confirmed for Australia
Toyota Prius V
Sales of the Toyota Prius V ended in Australia on 31 August 2021, as slowing sales saw Toyota opt not to replace the now-eight-year-old seven-seater. A round 200 were sold locally over the first 11 months of 2021.
MORE: Toyota Prius V axed internationally
Volvo V60 and V90 Cross Country
Volvo Australia used Model Year 2022 to rationalise its range of wagons, cutting the low-riding V60 mid-sizer and high-riding (and larger) V90 Cross Country in one fell swoop, and introducing the new V60 Cross Country to fill their places.
With the standard V90 not sold in Australia, VFACTS data reports 14 V60s as sold up to the end of November, but zero V90 Cross Country models.
Manual transmissions
A number of new cars and SUVs lost their manual transmission options in 2021. These include (but are not limited to):
- BMW 2 Series
- BMW Z4
- Hyundai Tucson
- Mitsubishi Outlander
- Toyota Yaris
- Toyota Corolla
Specific variants
A range of new cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles saw their model ranges trimmed throughout 2021. Some examples include:
- Ford Focus ST-Line and Active (detailed above)
- Genesis G80 2.2D diesel
- Mercedes-Benz CLS450
- Toyota HiAce V6
- Volvo XC60 Polestar Engineered
Which car on this list will you miss most? Is there a discontinued model we’ve missed? Join the comments below!
The post Every car discontinued in Australia in 2021 appeared first on Drive.
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