The implementation of the BS6 2.0 emissions norms, also known as the RDE norms, was a major event in the automotive landscape in 2023. The stricter regulations spelt the end of several cars in the market, especially small-capacity diesels in compact cars. Some vehicles were also taken off the shelves for being at the end of their lifecycle. We take a close look at all cars and SUVs that were discontinued in India in 2023.
Do note, for this list, we have only considered vehicles that were discontinued altogether, and not if a particular variant of a model was discontinued. Therefore, models such as the i20 diesel, the Kwid 800, the Honda City or Amaze diesels do not feature on this list.
Maruti Suzuki Alto 800
The venerable Maruti Alto 800, which was the most affordable model in the carmaker’s line-up, was discontinued this year, also putting an end to the iconic 3-cylinder, 796cc petrol engine (codenamed F8D) that served the brand for four decades in India. With the newer Alto K10 coming in in August 2022, there was a price overlap between both models. Maruti, therefore, consolidated the Alto line-up to just the K10 model, rather than keeping a low-demand 800cc engine alive that wasn’t used by any of its other models.
Mahindra KUV100 NXT
Offered with a sole petrol powertrain option, the KUV100 was Mahindra’s smallest and most affordable model of the time, and uniquely, came with a 6-seater layout with first-row bench seats in some variants. However, without any significant upgrades over the years, it was quite long in the tooth, and with sales of only a few hundred units a month, Mahindra clearly didn’t see a business case in updating the model to meet the stricter emissions norms.
Honda Jazz, City Gen 4 and WR-V
The carmaker that saw the most number of models disappear from its line-up due to the RDE norms was Honda. It killed three Honda models altogether: the Jazz, the WR-V and the City Gen-4. The City Gen-4 was at the end of its lifecycle – the City Gen-5 was on sale, and with dwindling sedan sales, an overlap across two generations was not needed. Meanwhile, the Jazz was on an extended lifecycle as the fourth-gen Jazz unveiled in 2020 never made it to India due to high development costs and small projected volume.
The WR-V was also a slow-selling product in the face of newer and more competent models in the compact SUV segment, and has eventually come to be replaced by the larger and more premium Elevate. The RDE norms also completely killed Honda’s diesel engines in India which, as mentioned above, meant that the City Gen-5 and Amaze also lost their diesel variants.
Nissan Kicks
Nissan discontinued the Kicks midsize SUV in the run-up to the RDE norms in 2023, and the brand is currently only survived by the Magnite in India. The Kicks was introduced in 2019 as a rival to the likes of the Creta in the midsize SUV segment, but it never really took off in terms of sales despite being priced competitively. It was available with a range of petrol and diesel engines throughout its lifetime, including a 156hp, 1.3-litre turbo-petrol unit, which was once the most powerful engine in the segment. Still, the lack of periodic updates meant it quickly became dated as newer rivals emerged.
Skoda Superb and Octavia
Both Superb and Octavia shared a 190hp, 2.0-litre petrol engine, but with sales of only a few hundred units combined and with waning interest in the executive sedan segment altogether, Skoda slowly phased them out. The 2.0-litre TSI engine, however, continues to serve the Kodiaq SUV.
There were talks of Skoda bringing back the Octavia nameplate in RS guise with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, although that hasn’t materialised it. Meanwhile, the Superb is expected to make a comeback as a CBU with an updated engine, likely as a stop-gap measure before the fourth-gen model that globally debuted a couple of months ago eventually makes it to our market.
Kia Carnival
The last model that was taken off the shelves this year was the Kia Carnival, which was delisted from the carmaker's website around June this year. In fact, most dealers had already stopped taking fresh orders back in April at the onset of the RDE norms, and only a handful of unsold units were available for a couple of more months. However, an all-new generation of the Carnival is headed to India in the second half of 2024, and this time, the India-spec model will be in sync with what’s available abroad – the outgoing Carnival was a generation behind in India. The upcoming Carnival is larger, a lot more premium and could see a notable step up in price as well.
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Automotive headlines that defined 2023