The biggest new cars axed for 2025

The car industry is undergoing what’s been described as its biggest upheaval in a generation, with the new car market changing rapidly.  

A heady concoction of rising costs, changing consumer tastes and the need to hit electric car sales targets has made manufacturers take some tough decisions.

That means an ever-growing list of well-known or popular cars going out of production. Often this is either because they’re due to be replaced with an EV or because sales aren’t meeting expectations, but it can also be because the car company needs to free up production capacity for more profitable models.

There’s a huge variety of cars that were axed in 2024 or are due to be discontinued soon. From small cars to supercars, estate cars to hot hatchbacks – car enthusiasts are likely to mourn the loss of some cars more than others.

So what are the cars that have quietly been dropped throughout 2024? And what cars should you celebrate in 2025 ahead of production ending? Check out our regularly updated list below.

New cars axed for 2025

Audi A5 Coupe/Cabriolet

It’s official: Audi no longer makes traditional coupes and convertibles. With the R8 supercar (below) and the TT bowing out back in 2023, last year also saw the removal of the A5 Coupe and Cabriolet from sale, and it’s unclear if either will ever be replaced.

Sales of two-doors cars have been dwindling for years, although rivals such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW continue to sell alternatives to Audi’s axed models. It appears buyers prefer to have the style of a coupe without the practicality hit, with the A5 Sportback continuing production for now.

Interestingly, a new Audi A5 has just gone on sale, but it’s not a coupe – it’s a saloon and Avant estate replacement for the old A4. Audi is shaking up its range with the intention of having all even-numbered cars become electric and odd-numbered cars continue with ICE power.

Audi R8

Another Audi bowed out in 2024 to more publicity: the celebrated R8 supercar is no longer on sale after production ended back in March. Over 18 years and two generations, Audi shifted over 44,000 examples of the R8 – impressive numbers for a supercar.

The R8’s incredible naturally-aspirated V10 always had a shelf life thanks to ever-stricter emissions regulations. But we don’t yet know if Audi even plans to revive the R8 name with an all-electric supercar, sadly.

Bugatti Chiron

While it was hardly on the shopping list of the average motorist, the Bugatti Chiron quickly became a modern icon as far as million-pound hypercars are concerned. With a world-record 300mph+ top speed run under its belt as well as a successful eight-year production run, the Chiron is unlikely to be forgotten any time soon.

As significant as the car itself is the loss of the incredible 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine, making way for a hybridized and naturally-aspirated V16 engine in the new Bugatti Tourbillon.

Hyundai i20N and i30N

Hyundai’s N division hot hatchbacks are the candles that burned twice as brightly for half as long. Both the brilliant i20 N and i30 N models ended production in 2024, with the Korean brand focusing on reducing its fleet average emission and moving to EVs, such as the impressive IONIQ 5 N.

Many will miss the affordable fun offered by the two petrol-powered hot hatches, however. Despite lacking the heritage of cars such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI, the i20 and i30 were lauded by critics. Both cars were developed at the fearsome Nürburgring race circuit with European tastes in mind.

Jaguar: all models

It’s not unusual for a brand to drop one or two models as it evolves with time, but Jaguar bosses have taken the unique decision to stop selling anything until the much publicised rebrand begins with a bold electric GT car in summer 2026.

The gradual wind-down of ‘old’ Jaguar began when XE, XF and F-Type production at Castle Bromwich ended last summer, with the Austrian-built E-Pace and I-Pace also ceasing production at the end of 2024. The F-Pace SUV – the biggest seller – is also now absent from UK price lists, but will continue to be offered globally in small numbers until 2026.

Kia Proceed

It’s not a car that reached icon status, but Kia’s Proceed was quietly dropped from the range at the end of 2024. While the regular Ceed model continues on, the quirky ‘shooting brake’ estate is no more due to sales dwindling.

The Proceed arrived back in 2008 as a sharper-looking, sportier two-door version of the Ceed. In 2019 it was then revamped into a curvy-looking estate car aiming to appeal to growing families. It’s unlikely to be replaced with a like-for-like model.

Lexus sports cars

Lexus isn’t the first name that springs to mind when looking for a sports car, but the brand’s racy ‘F’ sub-brand had built a loyal following with racy naturally aspirated V8 models such as the IS F, GS F and, more recently, RC F. But the latter met its demise as the legendary V8 makes way for more eco-friendly Lexus powertrains.

That also signed the death warrant for the stunning LC coupe and convertible, a two-door GT that never set the sales charts alight but was sure to make you look twice if you saw one on the road. Production of that car also ceased back in 2024.

Maserati V8s

More a tribute in mourning of an engine than any cars themselves but, like Lexus, the death of Maserati’s V8-engined models was inevitable. The ending of production of the current generation of Quattroporte and Levante also ends production of the Italian brand’s Ferrari-designed twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8.

It also means that Maserati may well never offer a V8 engine again – an engine configuration that kickstarted the brand’s last truly successful era in cars such as the 3200GT, the Quattroporte and the GranTurismo. Today’s models use V6 or fully electric power.

MINI Clubman

Small estate cars have been an endangered species for years now, and MINI’s decision to withdraw the Clubman from sale means they’re now officially extinct. It seems the brand’s family car future – as with many others – is in SUVs.

The modern Clubman has been on sale since 2007, but the nameplate actually dates back to 1969 with the original Mini. Over a million Clubmans of all generations have been produced, but it seems today’s unique six-door model has reached its natural conclusion.

Nissan GT-R

Godzilla is dead. Well, the Godzilla we know and love, anyway. The legendary Nissan GT-R was one of the longest-serving production cars on sale, having only been given minor tweaks since 2007, but it’s been gradually wound down over the last few years. It was banned from UK and European markets back in 2022 for not meeting noise regulations.

October 2024 saw the GT-R – codenamed R35 – end production in the US market, and while the Japanese factory continues to hand-build examples for some other markets it’s expected to bow out very soon. Its eventual replacement is likely to be fully electric – a controversial but expected move.

Suzuki Ignis, Jimny and Swift Sport

Suzuki has had a tumultuous 2024, and the overhaul continues into this year. The much-loved Jimny 4x4 and Swift Sport hot hatchback were last year’s casualties of the UK government’s zero emission mandate, being deemed too polluting to live on.

A new Swift has been launched, but without the Sport derivative, but the quirky Jimny is no more – even after Suzuki cleverly relaunched it as a commercial vehicle with no back seats to avoid its impact on the brand’s car CO2 average. But those aren’t the only departures: the characterful Ignis small car will be removed from sale soon, as will the Corolla-based Swace estate.

Volvo saloons

Volvo killing off its estate cars is like Cadbury axing the Dairy Milk: almost unimaginable. However, the Swedish brand did just that in 2023, removing its V60 and V90 estates from the UK market before returning them to price lists in 2024 due to a resurgence in demand for load-luggers.

The same fate isn’t likely for the S60 and S90 saloons, however. These were also axed when the estates were in 2023, but don’t look set to return due to a lack of popularity. So while Volvo did once sell almost as many saloons as it did estates, no successor is expected and the brand’s future is clearly SUV-shaped instead.

Get them while you can: cars soon to be axed

Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio models

You better act fast if you want to get your hands on what’s considered by many to be one of the greatest Alfa Romeos ever made: the Giulia Quadrifoglio sports saloon. Along with its SUV sibling, the Stelvio, the racy Italians are expected to bow out later in 2025 to make way for all-new, all-electric versions in 2026.

Both current Quadrifoglios (or four-leaf clover in English) are powered by an epic-sounding 505hp 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 that’s effectively a Ferrari V8 with two cylinders lopped off. Sure, the new electric versions are bound to be faster, but will they be as emotive?

Audi A1 and Q2

Cars are often discontinued due to a lack of popularity, but that certainly isn’t the case for Audi’s two smallest models: the A1 and Q2. Both cars are among the German maker’s biggest sellers, but they’re due for the chop later in 2025 with no replacements in the plan.

There are a few reasons for the A1 and Q2 being no more, a key one being that neither are sold in the US or China: Audi’s biggest markets. Audi makes far more money from its bigger models, while the move also brings separation between Audi and Volkswagen.

BMW Z4

It looks like BMW’s long-lived two-seater sports car will go the way of Audi’s TT in 2026, with production set to end and a direct replacement not due to follow. With two decades of history (and well beyond that with other Z models), the Z4’s demise will be mourned by enthusiasts – but Toyota bosses have been quoted as saying the closely related Supra will live on.

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus undeniably set new standards for family hatchbacks, proving that ‘humdrum’ cars needn’t look bland or offer an uninspiring drive. The car that forced the rest of the market to up its game has found well over two million homes globally, but it wont be escaping the axe that also killed off the Fiesta as Ford of Europe chases profit over sales numbers.

Ford has confirmed that the Focus production line in Saarlouis, Germany will shut down in mid-2025. Expect stock to be piled up for the rest of the year, but we’d act fast to get one before used prices rise.