Rust in pieces: Cult favourite 4WD, a small SUV that should have done better and a whole brand axed - the new-car market is going to get bloody next year

The first symptoms of serious market change are afoot. Not only did 2024 mark the end of a host of individual nameplates, it also saw the demise of one the oldest brands in Australia after decades of flagging sales. 

We wrote an awful lot about the new brands pledged for this year, next year and beyond — plenty of which are from China — and they’re partially the reason we lost many of these badges. You’ll notice another theme: they’re mostly small vehicles and a great many are passenger cars. The SUV bloat is here to stay.

With contracting sales, next year looks like it’s going to be even tougher for the little guys. Tissues at the ready, let’s say au revoir to the badges that aren’t bouncing back in 2025. 

1. Ford Puma

Australia's second biggest selling new-car brand manages that feat on just two vehicles, and even then, they use the same engines and underpinnings.

Since the passing of the Falcon, it seems Ford is unable to build excitement about anything other than Ranger and Everest. In 2022 it was the Focus and Fiesta’s demise, followed by the Escape the year after that really should have been more successful. 

Would you believe that in one of the world's other major English speaking right-hand drive markets the Puma is the number one seller? What went wrong with this one — it certainly wasn't a lack of excellence, the Puma exudes classic Euro Ford traits: crisp dynamics, a stylish cabin and efficient engines.

Maybe the ST could have saved the poor pouncing cat, or a well-priced electric version, or just better marketing. Sadly, we’ll now never know. 

2022 Ford Puma ST-Line (image: Dean McCartney)

2. Citroen. All of it.

One hundred and two years. That’s how long Citroen was in Australia, an innings that will be matched by Ford only in 2027. Citroen’s journey started in Australia with the 5CV Type C Torpedo and ended this year due to woeful sales, just 144 so far is the current count. 

And, unlike some of the others here more strenuously linked to an onslaught of new brands, Citroen’s tale is a direct line. Importer Inchcape ditched the brand for Deepal, a new Chinese number. The Deepal PR and marketing team comes straight from Citroen. 

While the collapse seemed inevitable, Citroen selling small volumes in fits and bursts since most can remember, the brand is on the cusp of an exciting reinvention in France. With home-assembled batteries powering affordable, lightweight and efficient EVs that look funky, it will always be what could have been for Citroen. 

3. Jaguar XE

This one’s pertinent. Not because the XE was a big seller, or a particularly enticing model next to the better engineered 3 Series, C-Class and A4 (it looks bloody good in red, though). 

The XE matters because it represents another Jaguar chapter gone wrong. The XE and E-Pace fall into a similar category, even if the XF and I-Pace are high points. The British brand tried to play the Germans at their own game and lost. Not spectacularly, but in a sputtering slump, like an old XJ overheating by the side of the motorway. 

Discussion about Jaguar’s (or JaGUar, to be accurate) rebrand is fervent, and mostly negative. One thing's for sure, though, new Jag is already more memorable than the outgoing era. 

4. Peugeot 508

Goodness me, another French car? Unlike the E-2008 we’ll come to later (and much of Citroen’s range), this one really hurts. 

Attractive looks, perfect ride, daring cabin design and superb handling weren’t enough for the fabulous 508 sedan and wagon to overcome the ever-higher sticker prices Peugeot slapped on. Anyone in the CarsGuide office would gladly own one of these... after it depreciated. 

Aside from Peugeot, no one was kidding themselves that the 508 was a 3 Series, C-Class or A4 rival. Skoda proves there’s still life in the mid-sized sedan and wagon segment if you get your marketing game right and here we are: Octavia continues as 508 exits. 

5. Audi TT

Audi made the announcement in 2023, but the Final Edition TT hung around until this year so we’re counting it. What car has done more good for a brand’s reputation in the last 30 years? Apart from the Audi R8. 

In three generations, the TT went from Peter Schreyer's mould-busting design at the height of the early 2000s affordable coupe boom to somewhat of an oddity in the brand’s range. 

The third and last generation was a cracking car, though, available with that howling 2.5-litre five-cylinder. Plus, the TT’s integration of the entire multimedia system into the driver’s binnacle and HVAC controls into the vent centres is yet to be matched for sheer organisational excellence. 

6. BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

BMW has tried its hand at a few four-door coupe-style models over the years, no doubt in a response to Audi’s successful 'Sportbacks', but none of them have really stuck — the most heinous being the 5 Series GT. 

The 4 Series Gran Coupe was the most successful of the lot but will no longer be available with a creamy smooth straight six or rorty four-banger. Instead, it’s electric-only now in i4 guise. Why? Simple. The EV was outselling the petrol. 

7. Fiat 500

Talk about longevity, the new 500 went on sale way back in 2008, a testament to the classy vintage-inspired styling that tip-toed just on the right side of retro pastiche. 

Petrol models remain in limited dealer stock but Fiat isn't bringing in any more examples of the last-gen 500.

In its place a battery electric model that is distinctly more expensive. The automotive equivalent of a Louis Vuitton purse. 

8. Peugeot E-2008

A real will-they or won’t-they, this one. Peugeot has acquired permission to sell the new-look, enhanced electric 2008 small SUV but has decided to not move forward with the BYD Dolphin and MG4 rival. 

It is hard to get a straight answer from the Peugeot team about this, but sales figures tell a pretty stark story. Priced at $60,000, they were going nowhere. A surprise $20,000 discount saw Inchcape sell out of the remaining E-2008s like lightning. 

Funnily enough, dealers spoke about how the E-2008 caused an almost reverse halo-strategy: Buyers would come in and look at the electric model, realise it was above their budget and leave with a petrol model instead. 

9. Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series V8

It featured in last year’s list but we jumped the gun a little. In July, Toyota made the call official: no more V8s for its icon that debuted in 1983. 

The ’Cruiser is sticking around, though, with the HiLux’s four-cylinder turbo-diesel under the bonnet that makes more power and torque, would you believe? Before the year’s end Toyota added a modified version of the V8’s five-speed manual transmission to select variants. 

The 70 Series LandCruiser is now only available with a manual on private buyer-favourite trims, such as the 79 Series dual cab and 76 Series wagon, not the base cars. It’s for enthusiasts, not those who need the 70 Series for work. 

That’s it for this year, 2025 is looking like even more of a bloodbath. Let’s hope the French catch a break.