Ever since the global pandemic struck paired with the introduction of updated Bs6 Emission regulations and safety rules, the automotive industry struggled a bit to stay in business. For this very reason, the manufacturers had to discontinue certain cars. This year was very shocking for the masses, but the car market was undoubtedly hit in a worse way. Here are some of the popular cars which bid farewell to the world:
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Ever since it first came out in 2006, the car managed to make heads turn with its strong road presence. The car received a facelift a few years ago which was not appreciated by enthusiasts. Due to bad sales performance, the manufacturer decided it was time to stop production.
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The story of BR-V´s short stint of only 4 years in India is both a case of too little, too late and wrong place at the wrong time. To begin with, BR-V was introduced in 2016 a highly competitive segment where Renault Duster had reigned supreme for quite some time and even that car too was being edged out by Hyundai Creta. And the BR-V laboured under the disadvantage being slightly higher priced than the other two and offering lesser features too. Also, design wise it looked a bit like Mobilio, Brio and Jazz, a combination which wasn´t appealing. The final nail in the coffin of the BR-V was that unlike its petrol drivetrains, Honda´s diesel engine lacked refinement and was mediocre on the road. And Honda had introduced this in a car in one of the most competitive segments at a time when everybody wanted only a diesel SUV. So in 2020, Honda stopped production of the BR-V.
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Successor to the older Tata Aria, the Hexa offered significant road presence and top-tier features. This was also Tata´s first proper entry into the premium segment. And with Tata´s build quality improved by leaps and bounds lately, the Hexa did turn out to be a pretty good ladder-frame SUV for 20 lakhs. The automatic variant did even better and had fewer niggles than the manual version. However, Tata discontinued the vehicle in 2020 when the stricter BS-6 norms kicked in. But Hexa´s story isn´t over yet. Rumour has it that Tata may re-launch it soon.
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Maruti Suzuki launched the Baleno RS to compete with the hot-hatches and it generated quite buzz too, initially. This model was cancelled mainly because the vehicle did not comply with the newly-introduced BS6 emission standards.
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The vehicle entered the Indian automotive market a decade ago in 2011. There were not many luxurious sedans back in the day. However, the car failed to take the market by storm mainly because of its high price (16 lakhs). The car finally stopped production after approximately three years in 2014.
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Renault Duster was the only mid-size SUV to be offered with an All Wheel Drive Variant. However, although Duster ruled that segment for quite some time a few years ago, the AWD variant never did well on sales. One of the reasons was that Indians hardly ever use AWD and 4WD features in their SUVs. It´s more sought out by the enthusiasts. Most buyers in this segment are looking for a commuter SUV that doubles up as a family vehicle. So the Duster AWD got discontinued in 2020.
These were some of the famous vehicles which got discontinued. Some of them did did not do well sales-wise while some just ran the clock out on upgrading to higher emission norms.
