Despite being very successful these cars were discontinued from Indian market. Know why.

India’s automobile market is on all time high with all newly launched cars receiving massive bookings. I this post we share you with some very successful cars of India which were suddenly discontinued by the manufacturers. Once ruled the roads, these cars were stopped manufacturing due to product strategies, emission norms or competition from other models. Despite discontinuation from a long time ago, these cars can be still seen running on the road with excellent performance. Here are some cars which were very successful in India.

Hyundai Santro – This hatchback from Korean manufacturer has been most successful in the category. Launched in 1998, Santro had completely captured hatchback segment of the market. The model was suddenly discontinued in year 2014. From launch till discontinuation, 13.40 lakh models were sold by the company.

Reason of discontinuation – Hyundai launched i10 & i20 series and Santro was posing biggest competition for these models. To make market prospects of i10 & i20, Santo was removed from the market.

Maruti 1000 – Maruti 1000 sedan was launched in year 1990. You can imagine success of this car by knowing that there was a long waiting period for customer to get the car delivered. Later on company started to sell this car through computerized lottery system.

Reason was discontinuation – This model was replaced with another very successful Maruti’s car, Esteem. Later on Esteem was replaced with SX4.

Toyota Qualis – Toyota entered in Indian market in year 2000 with launch of this car. Within one year after the launch, more than 21000 units of this multipurpose vehicle were sold. Qualis had captured 35% market in the segment.

Reason of discontinuation – Toyota decided to stop selling Qualis in year 2006 as company wanted to launch new models. Immediately after launch of Innova in 2006, Qualis was discontinued.

Daewoo Matiz – In 90s, Matiz was the most successful hatchback. This featured car had some attractive features like roof rails, driver side airbags, power windows etc. which were rarely seen in cars during that span of time.

Reason of discontinuation – Due to financial crunch, Deawoo stopped production of the car and exited from Indian market. Company was later acquired by General Motors (GM) and Chevrolet launched Matiz as Spark model.

Ford Ikon – Ford launched Ikon in year 1999 and car buyers liked this sedan. Car gained rapid popularity and it captured the market.

Reason of discontinuation – Success of Ikon could not last for long time and due to competition from Dzire, Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Toyota Etios; there was drastic fall in Ikon sale. Thus, company decided to discontinue on year 2011.

There are several other cars which ruled the automobile market for a long time and were suddenly discontinued. Maruti 800, Tata Sumo, Chevrolet Tavera, Ritz etc. were discontinued due to product strategies, competition or due to other factors. People still miss these cars on roads.