Cars That Died In 2023

Changes have swept through the auto industry in recent years as the production of electric vehicles ramps up and consumers continue to switch from traditional body styles like sedans and hatchbacks to SUVs and crossovers. As a result, automakers have been updating their lineups to better reflect the changing times, which inevitably means that older or lesser-selling models end up on the chopping block. In 2022, nearly every major brand saw at least one model killed off, and 2023 is set to be just as transformative.

In many cases, underperforming cars are retired to make way for more popular alternatives, but for a few of 2023's casualties, there will be no successors to the models getting axed. Most are, unsurprisingly, internal combustion cars, but there are also some hybrids being discontinued to make way for incoming all-electric models. It looks like 2024 will see even more revered cars disappear, as the Stellantis trio of the Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Chrysler 300 are all confirmed to be ending production in the latter part of 2023. But for now, here's a roundup of the cars that never made it to the 2023 model year.

With the arrival of the 2024 Revuelto hybrid, Lamborghini bid goodbye to its last-ever purely gas-powered flagship. The Revuelto still packs a V12 engine but pairs it with three electric motors which allow it to drive in all-electric mode in cities or slow-moving traffic. The Aventador made no such concessions, remaining thirsty, loud, and wilfully impractical right up until the end. Lamborghini commemorated the end of the Aventador's 11-year run with the special edition Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae, which churned out 769 horsepower from its naturally-aspirated V12 engine.

Like the rest of the auto industry, Lamborghini is phasing out internal combustion engines in favor of electric power, with CEO Stephan Winkelmann recently stating that the brand's first all-electric supercar will be unveiled in 2028. The Aventador will no doubt become even more of a collectors' item as the transition takes place, but if you have a few hundred thousand dollars laying around and fancy purchasing a new one, unfortunately, you've already missed the boat.

Originally launched in 1999, the Honda Insight survived three generations but was discontinued after 2022. It evolved from an odd-looking car with partly covered rear wheels into a rather unremarkable-looking sedan, and it's perhaps this blandness that sealed its fate. Production ended in June 2022, with Honda promising at the time to replace it with another hybrid model. That successor has now been confirmed to be the Civic Hybrid, which will debut for the 2024 model year.

The discontinued Insight was already based on the bones of the last-generation Civic, so it makes sense for Honda to replace it with a model that shares its name with the best-selling economy car. The 2023 Civic is packed with features that make it one of the best cars in its class, so here's hoping that the 2024 Civic Hybrid will prove to be just as much of a winner as its gas-powered lineup sibling.

Another victim of the shift away from sedans, the Toyota Avalon survived for five generations before getting the chop. The most recent generation debuted for the 2019 model year, and SlashGear was impressed with its comfortable ride and memorable (if divisive) styling. However, that couldn't save it from losing ground to crossovers and SUVs, and as a result, the Avalon was retired and replaced by the 2023 Crown, which arguably sits in an entirely new segment that's somewhere between a traditional sedan and a crossover.

Much like the Avalon, the Crown is available as a hybrid only and with sports a look that should polarize buyers. It does keep the Avalon's gaping front grille, but there are few visual similarities apart from that, with an all-new swooping rear roof design and black wheel arches to highlight the Crown's higher-riding nature. With a successor already in production, it's unlikely that Toyota will bring the Avalon nameplate back for a new generation, but the current-gen car remains on sale in China for now.

Much like the Chevy Spark, the Hyundai Accent was an affordable subcompact that was among the cheapest new cars on the market. And also like the Chevy Spark, it was killed off by Hyundai so that the brand could focus on delivering models with higher profit margins. The cheapest Hyundai left in 2023 now that the Accent has gone is the Venue crossover. It looks a little odd but SlashGear found it to be surprisingly competent in 2021, with a longer list of standard tech than you might expect.

Still, that doesn't change the fact that it's several thousand dollars more than the Accent used to be, and not everyone is going to want a tiny crossover. Hyundai claims that anyone looking for a sedan can simply head straight to its Elantra or Sonata models, although the Sonata is rumored to be axed within a few years, as well.

Hyundai is spinning its Ioniq nameplate into an all-electric sub-brand, with the Ioniq 5 and 6 already on sale and the Ioniq 7 on the way soon. To avoid confusion, the South Korean automaker has axed the hybrid and plug-in hybrid Hyundai Ioniq, having axed the original Ioniq EV in 2021. The 2022 Ioniq Hybrid was one of the cheapest in its segment, with a starting price of $23,600 plus fees. The closest equivalent in the 2023 lineup is the Elantra Hybrid, which starts at a little over $24,000.

The Ioniq Hybrid faced plenty of competition, both from rivals like the Toyota Prius and from internal rivals like the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro. With several other models in its lineup already offering similar specs for a similar price, it seems Hyundai wanted to simplify things a little, and it was the Ioniq Hybrid that was singled out as the weakest link.

The C-HR never found the sales success that Toyota had hoped it would, lagging behind rivals like the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, and Nissan Kicks. With the introduction of the Corolla Cross, the C-HR also suffered from internal competition, so the decision was made to ditch it for 2023. The Corolla Cross offers less divisive styling, a familiar nameplate, and a slightly lower starting price, giving it a much better chance of succeeding in its highly competitive segment.

It also packs a wider range of engine options than the C-HR, with both hybrid and non-hybrid powertrains available. The C-HR was only offered with a 2.0L four-cylinder making 144 horsepower and front-wheel drive, whereas most rivals offered more horses under the hood and all-wheel drive for better grip in bad weather conditions. Although it's dead in America, a new generation of the car will be launched in Europe based on the C-HR Prologue concept that recently did the rounds at auto shows.

After previously axing the base-spec Veloster, Hyundai also discontinued the hot hatch Veloster N for 2023, leaving the Elantra N and Kona N as the two remaining N-branded cars in its lineup. The front-wheel drive hatchback, first introduced in 2011, was last — and impressively — refreshed in 2021. Not only was it fun to drive with a stick, but it was also one of the very few cars of its size that was still just as enjoyable with Hyundai's DCT.

That should have opened it up to a whole new audience of buyers who would usually be put off buying a hot hatch by the requirement of a manual 'box to have fun, but unfortunately, it seems Hyundai couldn't tempt enough of those buyers into showrooms. Sadly, that meant the end of the Veloster N, leaving Hyundai to join the increasing ranks of manufacturers without a sporty hatchback in their lineup, at least not in America.

After only a few years on sale, the Nissan Rogue Sport was axed for 2023 as Nissan sought to trim the fat off its lineup. It was originally intended to be an entry-level vehicle for younger buyers, but it failed to capture much interest. Perhaps that was partly due to its name — despite initial appearances, the Rogue Sport was an entirely different model to the pricier Rogue, which itself benefitted from a recent overhaul. Adding "Sport" to the name also implies a level of athleticism that the Rogue Sport could never hope to achieve, with its 2.0L four-cylinder engine pumping out an underwhelming 141 horsepower.

Production of the car ceased in December 2022, with sales continuing for a few months more until inventory had been cleared. Few will mourn its death, especially since the larger Rogue lives on and the subcompact Kicks continues to provide an entry point to the brand's range of SUVs and crossovers.