12 Popular cars that were discontinued in 2023

Emission norms are good for the environment, no doubt about that, but this sometimes leads to discontinuation of some good cars in the industry. 2023, was especially painful as the BS6 stage-2 norms killed a lot of cars. As many as 14 cars were discontinued in 2023. So let’s talk about all of them.
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Maruti Alto 800

The first car on the list is the evergreen Alto 800. The 800cc engine survived Maruti and the Indian people for a long time, but now due to dwindling sales, Maruti didn’t find it suitable to update it to the newer norms. So it introduced the Alto k10 with the 1.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol and silently discontinued the Alto 800 in April 2023.

Honda City diesel/4th gen City & Amaze diesel

Honda took the hard decision to not update its 1.5-litre diesel engine for the RDE norms. This was due to less demand that didn’t warrant such a big investment. Honda introduced this i-DTEC 1.5-litre diesel engine in 2013 with the Amaze. It is not only in India, Honda is slowly phasing out its diesel engines in its international markets, too. Honda also discontinued the 4th Gen City it was selling alongside the 5th Gen model.

Hyundai i20 diesel

Another victim of the BS6 stage 2 norms was Hyundai’s 1.2-litre diesel engine. Hyundai had already phased it out from the i10 Nios and Aura in 2022. With falling diesel sales in the small hatchback segments, Hyundai didn’t feel the need to update the engine. The i20 Diesel was discontinued in February 2023. The only premium hatchback with a diesel engine now is the Tata Altorz.

Cars discontinued in 2023 – Hyundai Verna diesel

The Verna used to come with the 1.5-litre diesel that has been upgraded for the RDE norms. So it came as a surprise that Hyundai decided not to offer it on the new model as Verna’s majority of sales came through the diesel engine. The new Verna instead comes with a 1.5-litre turbo petrol and a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol. Currently, no sedans offer a diesel engine option in the affordable category.

Toyota Innova Crysta Petrol

Toyota took a major step by launching the petrol-only Innova HyCross. Then, it launched the Innova Crysta with a diesel engine to cater to the existing customer base of the Innova. But it kept a segregation here, by not launching the 2.7-litre petrol Crysta to not overlap with the Hycross. This meant the end of the 2.7-litre petrol engine on the Crysta.

Skoda Octavia/Superb

Skoda had to bear the biggest brunt of the BS6 Stage-2 norms as it had to discontinue its stalwarts like the Octavia & Superb. Skoda didn’t update the 2.0-litre petrol engine offered on both these sedans. For now, both these marquee sedans are officially discontinued. But there is some hope that they are going to return. According to rumours, Skoda is contemplating bringing the Octavia vRS to India in limited numbers. While the Superb is expected to return as a CBU product in 2024.

Renault Kwid 800

Like the Alto 800, Renault also had to phase out the 800cc engine due to the RDE norms. Unlike Maruti, Renault already had the 1.0-litre engine on sale. So it silently discontinued the 800cc engine in April and continued selling the 1.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine on the Kwid.

Cars discontinued in 2023 – Nissan Kicks

The Kicks never really got going in the Indian market. Though a competent product, it was plagued by Nissan’s unworthy image in the Indian market. Its sales were never as good as its competitors like Creta, Seltos etc, which further affected its resale. Nissan pulled the plug on the Kicks in April 2023 as it didn’t feel it was worth updating the engines for such low sales.

Honda WR-V

The WR-V was Honda’s attempt at cracking the sub-4m SUV. Though it started decently, as time went on other manufacturers started launching proper tall-body SUVs. While the WR-V felt out of place with its crossover-like looks. Also, Honda didn’t update the interiors and features leading to its demise. Honda discontinued the WR-V in April 2023.

Cars discontinued in 2023 – Honda Jazz

Another Honda car that was discontinued was the Jazz. Honda did try something new with the Jazz bringing a crossover-like hatchback. It did start on the right note, but Honda just couldn’t keep up with the competition. In the end, it was only used to fill the product lineup. Eventually, Honda discontinued it in April 2023.

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