"As soon as I drove, I was sleepy, so after taking the driver's license, I never thought about buying a car, and I didn't like cars, I only knew some very common brands, and I almost didn't know anything about the models. Xiao Sun, who planned to take her parents on a self-driving trip on holidays, finally considered buying a car, and she had no clue to ask her parents for advice and checked on the Internet, and directly staged a scene of "one search and one does not squeak".
As soon as my father heard that he wanted to buy a car, several models almost blurted out: Crown, Santana, Excelle, Beverly, Focus, etc. "From the expression, you can see that they are all the magic cars that my father longed for back then, and I have heard of these models, but after searching on the Internet, some have been discontinued, and some have long been not what they were back then, and some may be discontinued at any time if their sales continue to decline. After telling his father about the current situation of these magic cars, Xiao Sun felt that his father's silence was "deafening".
And the mother said confidently after laughing at his father for not keeping up with the evolution of the times, he knew that the popular Xiali was long gone, or the little red car that was good-looking, after repeated inquiries, Xiao Sun finally determined that his mother was talking about Mazda6, and after showing the searched news to his mother, his mother was also speechless.
Xiao Sun finally discovered that the magic car in the eyes of his parents has ended one after another or is fading its halo in the more than 20 years of the new century. And the models that have attracted much attention in the current market are too unfamiliar to parents.
A few days ago, Mazda officially announced that the Mazda6 will be discontinued in the Japanese market in April 2024, and there will be no successor model. This sedan, which once swept the world, is finally about to retire from the stage of history. As one of the most representative models of the Mazda brand, the Mazda6 has been discontinued in the North American market in 2021, and in the Chinese market and the British market in 2023.
At the same time, Santana, the old Shanghai era imprint that just appeared in the TV series "Flowers", also broke the news of the discontinuation. **It was found that this former generation of "god cars" sold only one in November 2023, and many dealers also said that the model has been discontinued. Moreover, there is no Santana in the sedan models on sale on SAIC Volkswagen's official website.
SAIC Volkswagen official website.
In recent years, the number of vanished cars has increased rapidly. Classic models such as Beetle, Xiali, Phaeton, Ruizhi, Excelle, and FJ Cruiser bid farewell to the historical stage. 2020 is known as "the year of the concentrated fall of the god car". This year, Prado, Cruze, Crown, BMW i8, Audi R8, Bentley Mulsanne and Lexus GS have announced the discontinuation of production.
However, on many social platforms and second-hand car platforms, these magic cars have their own fans, not only the feelings of a generation, but also many people are willing to pay for the feelings of a second-hand car many years ago, lest these magic cars be out of print.
The end of the car?
The times abandoned you, not only did you not say sorry, but you couldn't even say hello.
After the first-generation Mazda6 was launched in China in 2003, it attracted a large number of fans with the reputation of "the king of corners", and it was almost "the first choice of young people". In the memories of the post-70s generation such as Xiao Sun's parents, and the post-80s generation who witnessed the rapid take-off of China's auto industry as adults, the Ma 6 can be said to dominate the market.
The red Mazda6 as a "hard currency", shined at many weddings, even after many years, Xiao Sun's mother is still impressed by the wedding team composed of the red Mazda6, and even planned to invite such a festive team for her daughter's wedding, never expected, the daughter has not yet married, and the Ma6 has been discontinued.
During its stay in China, the Mazda6 has undergone several facelifts, from the second-generation Mazda6 Ruiyi to the third-generation Mazda6 Artez, the Mazda6 has a distinct "sporty" label and has a group of loyal fans. However, after reaching the peak of sales in 2017, it began to decline. In the past two years, serious quality control problems have been exposed one after another, which has caused sales to continue to shrink.
In the Chinese market, the Mazda6 (Atez) has not been updated for more than two years since FAW Mazda was merged into Changan Mazda, and the latest model is the 2021 Atez, which will also be discontinued in March 2023.
Now, following the British and Chinese markets, Japan has also announced the discontinuation of Mazda6, and there is no successor model, this generation of "god car" has finally come to a regrettable end.
Compared with the discontinuation of the Mazda 6, Santana's withdrawal is even more embarrassing. In the TV series "Flowers" set in the late 80s and 90s of the 20th century, Santana can be said to be the car with the highest mirror rate in the whole drama, not only the first joint venture car in China, but also a label in Shanghai at that time. The advertising slogan "With Santana, you are not afraid to go all over the world", it has spread all over the country.
In the minds of many post-80s generations, Santana is the first impression of a family car, a dream car that is difficult to achieve in the minds of childhood and adolescence.
According to the data, Santana's sales reached 19 in the period from 2002 to 2004380,000 units, 21560,000 units, 22310,000 units, contributing to SAIC Volkswagen's sales. 4% and 628%。
But it is such a well-known national god car, which has gradually disappeared in the torrent of the new era.
In 2014, Santana's annual sales were 30730,000 units, a record high, but the proportion of SAIC Volkswagen's sales has fallen to 178%。Since 2015, Santana's sales contribution has been decreasing, and in 2017, sales have also begun to decline.
In just six years, Santana's annual sales have fallen from 280,000 to less than 40,000 units, and even only one unit will be sold in November 2023. As a result, the news of Santana's "discontinued production" spread far and wide.
According to sources close to SAIC Volkswagen, the 2021 Santana has ceased production in March 2023, and a small amount is still on the market. There is no information on whether production will continue in the future.
When SAIC Volkswagen's annual sales just exceeded 300,000 units, Santana was the absolute main sales force; Today, SAIC Volkswagen's sales in 2023 are 12150,000 units, but there is no place for Santana, but SAIC Volkswagen's current sales force, whether it is the Lavida family or the Passat, can no longer reach the popularity and contribution rate of Santana.
Helping auto companies develop and grow, and then gradually turning around and leaving in the ups and downs of the market may be the inevitable fate of most god cars.
No matter how beautiful it once was, in recent years, more and more magic cars are withdrawing from the stage of history.
According to public information, in recent years, Beetle, Xiali, Phaeton, Ruizhi, Focus, Excelle, FJ Cruiser, Prado, Cruze, Crown, BMW i8, Audi R8, Bentley Mulsanne and Lexus GS have all announced the suspension of production or have been rumored to be discontinued due to the continued decline in sales.
Take a different path
However, there are also many god cars after the production is stopped, and the follow-up product matrix of the enterprise has not been able to take over the heavy responsibility, so they have to be "reborn" in a different way.
The Toyota Crown, which was discontinued in April 2020, returned as an independent luxury brand in 2021 and launched the high-end SUV Crown Land Amplification and the high-end MPV Crown Wilfa in the same year. At the end of 2023, the all-new Crown SportCross, the third model of the Crown brand, has also been unveiled.
The Land Rover Defender, which was officially discontinued at the end of 2015, will also be "resurrected" in 2020 and quickly introduce the Defender 90 and Defender 110 models to China. Apart from the styling changes, the biggest difference is that the new Defenders are equipped with a 48V mild hybrid system.
In addition to this, there is the Prado, who is about to return. Three years after announcing the suspension of production, FAW Toyota officially announced the "resurrection" of Prado, which will be put into production at FAW Toyota's Chengdu plant in 2024, and is designed with the development concept of returning to the origin, which not only pays tribute to the classics and inherits, but also adds new platform technology.
Models that have been discontinued and resurrected almost always have the same characteristics - they once had a large user base and were remembered by many consumers in the market.
Therefore, the same off-road god car of the year, the higher Toyota Prado will return, while the Mitsubishi "Bobcat" Pajero is difficult to return to the Chinese auto market. This is not only because its manufacturer, GAC Mitsubishi, has completely discontinued, but also because Pajero is far inferior to Prado in terms of popularity and audience continuity.
However, in today's intelligent and new energy rapidly penetrating automobile market, the aura of "god car" has gradually been diluted by the strong rise of Chinese brands. With the advanced layout of intelligence and a comprehensive insight into the needs of local consumers, new car-making forces and Chinese brands have begun to continue to attack the market that was once dominated by "god cars". It is also under this offensive that more and more joint venture brands and imported brands have been shrinking their market share.
Judging from the current situation, with the continuous evolution of consumer demand, the iterative upgrading speed of products in China's auto market is also accelerating. And for the gods who have always adhered to the "five-year major change" for many years, it is unimaginable and even more difficult to achieve.
Zhang Yongwei, vice chairman and secretary general of the China Electric Vehicle 100 Association, said that the automotive industry will show more "involution" characteristics in 2024 and 2025. New models will be released intensively, proving that the market is big enough, the competition is fierce enough, the life cycle of a new model is accelerating and shortening, and the important goal of the company is no longer the scale of single vehicle sales but the speed of pushing new vehicles.
Although the god car continues to disappear, every once in a while, there is always a god car to meet consumers again in a different way. This may also prove that in the rapid changes of the market, there are always some feelings that can withstand the precipitation of time.
Author: Zheng Yu.