Say Goodbye to These 11 Car Brands!
If there’s one thing you should know about us, it’s that we absolutely love car brands. In fact, the quirkier, the better, as far as we can tell. However, we’re fully aware that building cars can be quite a brutal industry in most cases, and the industry seems to be entering a time of huge transition.
Converting from combustion power to battery-electric might be one of the biggest transportation shifts since we switched from horses to automobiles.
In fact, even that substantial change might pale in comparison to the development of autonomous driving technology. The change will definitely open all kinds of spaces for new automotive brands to emerge and fully thrive.
However, even the ones that are long-established might suffer from this transition. In other words, we might not even see them again. Here are some automotive brands that might not even be around in 10 years:
Jaguar
Jaguar Land Rover released its “Reimagine” strategy somewhere back in 2021. As it turns out, for Land Rover, that means electrifying. For Jaguar, it meant an entire soup-to-nuts reshaping of the brand.
Jaguar has decided to be purely electric by 2025. Moreover, it might happen on a bespoke EV platform, and it might come with a dramatic move upmarket to take on the likes of Bentley rather than Volvo and Audi.
The plans feel sweeping and nebulous at the same time. Little information has leaked out ever since, but the CEO spearheading the aforementioned Jaguar transition has recently resigned.
Jaguar Land Rover will keep on facing financial pressures, and if things are going like this, there aren’t really many moves for Jaguar.
McLaren
Independent car manufacturing is truly a brutal business, and so is independent elite-level auto racing. Even if McLaren registered an impressive success at both, cash flow has been a true issue for McLaren.
The brand has already sold its headquarters and much of its storied race car collection to raise additional funds. Moreover, the car company has been officially downgraded to negative.
McLaren hasn’t built a practical SUV such as the Lamborghini Urus to ramp up revenue. It seems that the brand is continuously facing a daunting technical challenge to make its engaging and lightweight sports cars completely electric.
McLaren has plenty of offers for a potential outside investor, but still, finding one interested in the technical arm and the Formula 1 operation might prove to be more complicated than initially planned. If you’re interested in knowing more about McLaren’s achievements in Formula 1, you should definitely try this book.
Polestar
Volvo and Geely took their performance arm, Polestar, and transformed it into an independent electric car brand. The cars have been amazing in both concept and production form, and the expansion plans are quite ambitious.
However, Polestar has deeply struggled to make a coherent vision aside from Volvo’s. Polestar’s public offering hasn’t been a runaway like Tesla. Moreover, Polestar took a $1.6 billion handout from its parent company just to keep the operation running.
If their financial fortunes don’t pick up, it’s likely that the new Volvo leadership will want to spice things up. They might even push the boundaries in the lineup, even taking outsourcing into consideration.
Chrysler
FCA and PSA Group united to form the mega-conglomerate Stellantis in 2021. However, instead of culling underperforming brands like most people thought it might happen, Stellantis gave everybody a lease on life.
Chrysler was, alongside the Pacifica minivan and the ancient 300 sedan, one of the brands that had been expected to go. Now, Chrysler’s future is pretty much a blank slate.
The brand did release a brand new Airflow concept, a Ford Mustang Mach-E rival that is expected to arrive by the middle of the decade. For the moment, Stellantis decided not to import a brand like Peugeot or even Citroën that could even render Chrysler redundant.
However, if Stellantis decides to consolidate the brand, Chrysler might be one of the first to depart.
Cadillac
Cadillac had to go through several reinventions just to find its footing for many decades. In fact, even GM executives have said that the current EV is Cadillac’s last chance at survival.
The company has two exciting EVs, the Lyriq and the hand-built Celestiq. Moreover, the Escalade will remain a force through the end of the combustion era and beyond.
But it’s still unclear just how much the Cadillac branding will add to that. According to a report published in Car and Driver, it might not be that auspicious for Cadillac’s long-term future.
The outlet added that GM is even considering branching off the Escalade into its own family of Escalade vehicles. As it turns out, doing that would be no less than an official admission that Cadillac branding isn’t quite getting the job done for its premium vehicles.
Discontinued Cars That Won’t Even Make It to 2024
As we’re getting closer to the end of 2023, we can’t help but wonder what cars will even make it into the next year.
Some luxury brands like Audi and Mercedes-Benz seem to be putting multiple cars to rest as they prepare new products, and American automakers such as Chrysler and Doge have a minimum of one vehicle down.
Alpina BMW B7
Alpina inked a deal with BMW early a year ago that ended the in-house tuner’s independent run. This gave the automaker complete control of the company after 2025.
Given all this, the Alpina B7, which is based on the BMW 7 Series, won’t see a complete successor based on the current generation, with other Alpina models in danger of being taken out of the market.
Audi R8
Audi’s supercar is ultimately reaching the end of the line. With the 2023 GT RWD model, Audi declared that the R8 is officially winding down after 16 years, after two generations.
Audi TT
The Audi TT might wave goodbye after 25 years. The iconic sports car managed to survive two and a half decades before the automaker decided to move on from the nameplate.
Buyers in the United Kingdom will ultimately see a Final Edition Model for 2023, as the RS Heritage Edition introduced last year might be the last of its kind for the United States.
Chevrolet Bolt EV
Chevrolet has decided to kill its most affordable EV. The first generation of Bolt debuted back in 2016, and the updated version arrived in 2022, making the small EV much more appealing with a sharp redesign and brand-new technology.
There is hope for the future, though, since Chevrolet promised a brand new Bolt riding atop its advanced Ultium EV platform. When the new Bolt will finally debut is still a mystery.
Chevrolet Bolt EUV
The bigger Bolt EUV arrived with Chevy’s refresh in 2022, offering more interior passenger space. For the first time, Super Cruise is a Chevy product.
It might be discontinued, too. It is still unclear whether the new Ultium-based Bolt is expected in the next few years and if it will include the larger EUV.
Chevrolet Camaro Turbo
The Chevrolet Camaro nameplate as a whole might stick around for a while before it gets discontinued. However, the base turbo model definitely won’t.
Chevrolet confirmed their four-cylinder Camaro won’t be available for the 2024 model year, which basically means the base motor is now the 3.6-liter V6 making 335 hp. That specific version will start at $32,495.
If you’re interested in knowing more about cars, here’s what we recommend reading next: 6 Cars That Will Last You a Lifetime
