Kaleidoscope 2023: 7 Cars That Ended This Year

R8 Coupe Japan Final Edition. (Doc. Audi Japan)

JAKARTA - The year 2023 is a productive year for the automotive industry globally. A number of manufacturers launched several of their newest models this year. However, this period is also decorated with sad news for lovers of a number of cars that have been circulating for a long time.

This year, several manufacturers have taken tough decisions to stop the long-standing poor car production across the industry for various reasons, from switching to electrification to its models that are starting to get out of market interest.

In the United States, for example, there are Dodge Charger and Challenger as well as his cousin, Chrysler 300, which was decided to end this year. In Europe, another charismatic car that also follows is Audi R8. And this is just a handful of vehicles saying goodbye after the 2023 model.

What are the models that end up in 2023? The following is a list of seven VOI versions of cars whose production has been terminated:

Ford Fiesta

Ford, an automaker from the US, decided to stop one of its best-selling products, Fiesta, on July 7. A last unit of the model has been out of the assembly line at Cologne, Germany, ending its 47-year adventure.

Ford's official reason for stopping the production of this car is because the company needs space at the Cologne assembly plant to produce a new Ford Explorer EV, which is only aimed at the European market. The last two Ford Fiesta will be kept for Ford's historical collection. One will remain in Cologne, while the others will be stored in the UK, which has always been a big market for this car.

BMW Series-6 Gran Turismo

Since his move on the automotive stage in 2017, BMW's Series-6 Gran Turismo (GT) has opened a new chapter. However, when the story stretched, there was an unexpected dark spotlight where this series was less in demand by the market.

In the fall of this year, BMW announced the end of the adventure of the Series-6 GT. The company revealed it will end all production periods, with the types Couple, Convertible, and Gran Coupe with GT which will be the last variant and will provide space for Series-5 production.

The BMW GT-6 series have never reached expectations from manufacturers. Among the entire lineup of existing models, Series-6 was recorded as the model with the least number of sales, for example last year in Germany, which sold only 509 units.

Mazda CX-8

Mazda, a well-known automotive manufacturer from Japan, has announced its plans to stop production from CX-8 by the end of December. The SUV's adventure was halted in order to provide room for the CX-80 hybrid model to be launched next year. This decision shows Mazda's serious steps in dealing with the electric car market.

Although production will be halted within the next month, the company has confirmed that orders and sales of CX-8 will continue until 2024 or until the stock of units is sold out.

Kia Rio

The bold decision was taken from the South Korean vehicle brand, Kia, which will turn off the Rio model by the end of 2023. This model is a sedan type vehicle that has affordable prices in its class.

The manufacturer said the halt to production from Rio was in order to provide a way for its next-to-leading model to be launched next year. It was stated that the All-New K3, which was launched last August, was the successor to the sedan.

Audi TT

The end of 2023 will be a farewell to one of the legendary models from Audi, namely TT. The iconic sports car will be put to death after 25 years of navigating the market.

The German manufacturer revealed that this well-known product was stopped because it wanted to present more EV sports cars in the future. In fact, the four-ring logo brand intends to present its successor in the form of electrification.

At the end of last November, Audi launched the final edition of this iconic model for the global market through an assembly line at the Hungarian factory. The third generation TTS Coupe, looks decorated with flowers, surrounded by the concepts of TT Coupe and TT Roadster, as well as previous models. The figure of 662,762 units listed indicates the total production of Audi TT from February 18, 1998 to November 10, 2023.

Mercedes-Benz CLS

Launching 2004, Mercedes-Benz CLS is a series of executive cars produced by Mercedes-Benz positioned between E-Class and S-Class. However, in August 2023 production was stopped by manufacturers to pave the way for Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

The decision to stop CLS also marks a clear push towards EQ electric vehicles and more expensive AMG models. This means that models such as EQE and EQS with a coupe-like line offer a more attractive alternative both in terms of design and price segments.

Jeep Cherokee

Cherokee is the model name of the most famous Jeep. What happened to the Cherokee model is different from other models that were stopped. Named after the Indian Cherokee tribe in North America, Jeep has been using the nameplate since 1974. And in 2021, the Cherokee Tribe in Oklahoma in the United States objected to the use of the name.

It is known that Cherokee's nameplate returns to North America for the fifth generation, when the vehicle is converted into a crossover and enlarged to medium size. The car was introduced at the 2013 New York International Auto Show for the 2014 model.

However, many consider that the nameplate will return in the next few years, perhaps decorating the upcoming EV Jeep SUV because the names of Cherokee and Jeep seem to have been in the same unit for almost 50 years.