Key facts
- Honda and Sony's joint EV project, Afeela, has been canceled without any sales.
- The BMW XM sold fewer than 2,000 units in the US in its first full year.
- Aptera Motors, an electric vehicle startup, never produced a customer car before closing.
- The Buick Cascada saw declining sales from 7,153 units in its first year to 4,136 by 2018.
- The Chevrolet SSR and Cadillac XLR/XLR-V are also noted as automotive failures.
New automotive brands and subbrands from established manufacturers face significant challenges in achieving market success, with many high-profile ventures ending in failure. Honda and Sony's joint electric vehicle project, Afeela, is the latest example, being discontinued without a single sale.
Established automakers have also seen their share of flops. The BMW XM, for instance, sold only 1,974 units in the USA during its first full year on the market, a figure significantly lower than other models within BMW's own lineup and likely lower than Lamborghini's Urus sales, despite Lamborghini's overall best sales year. Mercedes, in contrast, sold 10,988 G-Class units in the USA last year.
Historically, numerous automotive ventures have failed to launch or sustain themselves. Aptera Motors, an electric car startup, ceased operations in 2011 without ever producing a customer vehicle, despite developing prototypes of its three-wheeled 2e electric car. The company cited a lack of government funding for non-four-wheeled vehicles and private investor hesitancy as reasons for its demise.
Other notable failures include the Buick Cascada, a convertible that saw declining sales from 7,153 units in its first year to 4,136 by 2018 before being discontinued. The Chevrolet SSR, a niche convertible pickup, also failed to capture consumer interest, similar to the earlier Plymouth Prowler. The Cadillac XLR and its performance variant, the XLR-V, are also cited as examples of luxury vehicles that did not meet sales expectations.
These high-profile failures suggest that creating a successful new car brand or model is exceptionally difficult, even for established manufacturers. While many factors contribute to these outcomes, including design, performance, and market timing, the path to automotive success is fraught with challenges.