The implementation of the BS6 2.0 emissions norms, often known as the RDE norms, was a serious occasion within the automotive panorama in 2023. The stricter rules spelt the finish of a number of cars available in the market, particularly small-capacity diesels in compact cars. Some automobiles had been additionally taken off the cabinets for being on the finish of their lifecycle. We take a detailed take a look at all cars and SUVs that had been discontinued in India in 2023.

Do be aware, for this listing, we’ve got solely thought of automobiles that had been discontinued altogether, and never if a specific variant of a mannequin was discontinued. Therefore, fashions such because the i20 diesel, the Kwid 800, the Honda City or Amaze diesels don’t characteristic on this listing.

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800

The venerable Maruti Alto 800, which was essentially the most inexpensive mannequin within the carmaker’s line-up, was discontinued this yr, additionally placing an finish to the long-lasting 3-cylinder, 796cc petrol engine (codenamed F8D) that served the model for 4 a long time in India. With the newer Alto K10 coming in in August 2022, there was a value overlap between each fashions. Maruti, subsequently, consolidated the Alto line-up to only the K10 mannequin, relatively than retaining a low-demand 800cc engine alive that wasn’t utilized by any of its different fashions.

Mahindra KUV100 NXT

Offered with a sole petrol powertrain choice, the KUV100 was Mahindra’s smallest and most inexpensive mannequin of the time, and uniquely, got here with a 6-seater format with first-row bench seats in some variants. However, with none vital upgrades over time, it was fairly lengthy within the tooth, and with gross sales of just a few hundred models a month, Mahindra clearly didn’t see a enterprise case in updating the mannequin to satisfy the stricter emissions norms.

Honda Jazz, City Gen 4 and WR-V 

The carmaker that noticed essentially the most variety of fashions disappear from its line-up as a result of RDE norms was Honda. It killed three Honda fashions altogether: the Jazz, the WR-V and the City Gen-4. The City Gen-4 was on the finish of its lifecycle – the City Gen-5 was on sale, and with dwindling sedan gross sales, an overlap throughout two generations was not wanted. Meanwhile, the Jazz was on an prolonged lifecycle because the fourth-gen Jazz unveiled in 2020 by no means made it to India as a consequence of excessive improvement prices and small projected quantity.

The WR-V was additionally a slow-selling product within the face of newer and extra competent fashions within the compact SUV phase, and has finally come to get replaced by the bigger and extra premium Elevate. The RDE norms additionally utterly killed Honda’s diesel engines in India which, as talked about above, meant that the City Gen-5 and Amaze additionally misplaced their diesel variants.  

Nissan Kicks

Nissan discontinued the Kicks midsize SUV within the run-up to the RDE norms in 2023, and the model is presently solely survived by the Magnite in India. The Kicks was launched in 2019 as a rival to the likes of the Creta within the midsize SUV phase, nevertheless it by no means actually took off by way of gross sales regardless of being priced competitively. It was out there with a spread of petrol and diesel engines all through its lifetime, together with a 156hp, 1.3-litre turbo-petrol unit, which was as soon as essentially the most highly effective engine within the phase. Still, the dearth of periodic updates meant it shortly grew to become dated as newer rivals emerged. 

Skoda Superb and Octavia

Both Superb and Octavia shared a 190hp, 2.0-litre petrol engine, however with gross sales of just a few hundred models mixed and with waning curiosity within the govt sedan phase altogether, Skoda slowly phased them out. The 2.0-litre TSI engine, nevertheless, continues to serve the Kodiaq SUV.

There had been talks of Skoda bringing again the Octavia nameplate in RS guise with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, though that hasn’t materialised it. Meanwhile, the Superb is anticipated to make a comeback as a CBU with an up to date engine, doubtless as a stop-gap measure earlier than the fourth-gen mannequin that globally debuted a few months in the past finally makes it to our market.

Kia Carnival

The final mannequin that was taken off the cabinets this yr was the Kia Carnival, which was delisted from the carmaker’s web site round June this yr. In reality, most sellers had already stopped taking recent orders again in April on the onset of the RDE norms, and solely a handful of unsold models had been out there for a few extra months. However, an all-new era of the Carnival is headed to India within the second half of 2024, and this time, the India-spec mannequin shall be in sync with what’s out there overseas – the outgoing Carnival was a era behind in India. The upcoming Carnival is bigger, much more premium and will see a notable step up in value as properly.

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Automotive headlines that outlined 2023