Indian Cars Discontinued In 2024: Mahindra Marazzo, Hyundai Kona, Mini Cooper SE and More

The year 2024 had a lot of cars bid adieu to the Indian market for a number of reasons. Chief among those were the introduction of stringent emission norms, strategic segment shifts by carmakers and changing customer preferences. This list transcends segments and engines: from MPVs and luxury EVs to diesel cars. Before we get to the list, let's understand the reasons behind a car being discontinued in India. 

Primary Reasons Behind A Car Being Discontinued In India

There were many reasons behind a car being discontinued in 2024. Here are the most important ones:

Expensive Production

This can be seen in the case of mostly hatchbacks with sub 1.0 litre engines. With rising emission norms, carmakers found it exceedingly difficult to produce small capacity engines that conform to current emissions. Some examples are Maruti Suzuki discontinuing the Alto 800 and Renault delisting the 800cc variant of the Kwid hatchback. 

Changing Customer Preference

Changing customer preferences leads to low sales. For example, rising hatchback prices have customers willing to go for a used car instead or pay extra for an SUV or sedan. Therefore, carmakers are moving away from hatchbacks to sedans and SUVs. 

Low Sales

The shift in consumer preference leads to low sales. The declining demand for cars increases production costs and causes unsold inventory to pile up. An example is the 4th generation Honda City and Ciaz being phased out owing to low sales. 

Changing Fuel Trends

Earlier, customers preferred diesel cars as they offered lower running costs owing to the fuel being substantially cheaper than petrol. However, rising fuel costs make it difficult to buy a diesel especially when diesel service costs are more than petrol. The growing preference for EV and CNG vehicles is making diesel cars obsolete due to their higher running costs. 

Strategic Realignments

While change in customer preferences and low sales are important reasons, some cars get discontinued if they share a platform with multiple vehicles and that platform is being phased out. Carmakers discontinue some models to introduce newer body types and avoid cannibalising sales. 

Indian Cars Discontinued In 2024

Mahindra Marazzo (2018 to 2024)

The first vehicle in the list of Indian cars that were discontinued in 2024, is the Mahindra Marazzo. The Marazzo was Mahindra’s answer to the Tata Hexa and Toyota Innova but could not replicate the success of its Japanese rival. Interestingly, Mahindra removed and then relisted the Marazzo on its official website. While it has not been officially discontinued, a call to a few dealers confirmed that the six and seven seater MPV is no longer on sale. 

Citroen C5 Aircross Feel Variant (2021 to 2024)

Citroen had initially launched the C5 Aircross in two variants, Feel and Shine. The French carmaker had dropped the Feel variant when it launched the facelifted C5 Aircross in 2022 and reintroduced it in 2023 while raising the price of the top end Shine variant. Citroen again discontinued the base Feel variant in 2024 leaving the C5 Aircross SUV available in only one variant. 

Mini Cooper SE (2022 to 2024)

The Mini Cooper SE was the carmaker’s first electric offering for India and that too soon after the electric car’s global debut. However, expectations fell short as the car felt dynamically heavier, the electric motor lacked performance; not what you’d expect from a Mini Cooper. To top it off, the driving range was too low to justify its practicality. Low customer interest had Mini pull the plug on the Cooper SE in 2024 and soon replace it with the regular petrol power Mini Cooper. 

Mini Cooper Countryman (2013 to 2024)

The Mini Cooper Countryman too was discontinued along with the Mini Cooper. However, unlike its electric sibling, the Countryman had been around in India, 11 years to be precise. Interestingly the Countryman was soon replaced by an all electric Countryman which turned out to be a lot more practical than the Cooper SE thanks to its extended range and four door layout. 

Hyundai Kona Electric (2019 to 2024)

Hyundai brought the Kona Electric to India in 2019 as a CKD (completely knocked down) unit. It was the carmaker’s first electric offering in India. However, its high price of around ₹25 lakh made it hard to compete with the likes of locally manufactured similarly sized SUVs like the Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV400 which were way more affordable. Hyundai eventually discontinued the Kona Electric. You can call the recently launched Hyundai Creta Electric the spiritual successor to the Kona Electric. 

Jaguar I-Pace (2021 to 2024)

The I-Pace was Jaguar’s first EV offering in India and one of the first luxury EVs to be sold in India before Mercedes-Benz took over. The carmaker had been trimming its model lineup in India over the years and the I-Pace was the latest victim, facing the axe in 2024. Its discontinuation can be attributed to low sales and Jaguar’s changing corporate vision. Currently, Jaguar sells only the F-Pace in India. 

Conclusion

Manufacturers discontinue cars for various reasons. These are production costs, changing buyer trends, changing fuel trends, low sales and strategic realignments. Amongst the list of Indian cars discontinued in 2024,  a couple of EVs were also there, mostly due to low customer demand. 

Mahindra discontinued its Marazzo MUV while Citroen discontinued the base Feel variant of its flagship C5 Aircross SUV. In the electric segment, Hyundai discontinued the Kona Electric while Jaguar delisted its I-Pace. Interestingly, Mini discontinued the Cooper SE EV in favour of the ICE Cooper while replacing the ICE Countryman with the Countryman EV.