Automakers add new models all the time. When they quietly drop one, though, it usually means something bigger is going on. The vehicles that disappear tend to have history—sometimes decades of it—and their exits often say as much about shifting tastes as they do about sales charts. In some cases, demand simply dried up. In others, even heritage wasn’t enough to justify another generation. The following vehicles were among those that exited the U.S. market in 2025. A few may live on elsewhere, but for American buyers, their chapters are closed.
Acura TLX
The TLX didn’t fail so much as get left behind. Despite Acura’s efforts, the sedan never found sustained momentum in a market that has overwhelmingly shifted toward SUVs and crossovers. With demand soft and priorities changing, Acura chose to focus on its utility lineup and future electrified products. The decision, announced in July 2025, brings the TLX to an end and leaves the Integra as the brand’s lone remaining car.
Audi A4
Audi didn’t outright kill the A4—it folded it into something else. As part of a broader effort to streamline its lineup and rethink naming conventions, the A4 badge steps aside after 2025. Its replacement is the new A5, now a larger, five-door model that effectively merges the old A4 sedan and A5 Sportback into a single, more tech-forward offering. It makes sense on paper, even if longtime Audi fans need time to adjust. The A4 name could resurface one day as an electric model, but for now, the A5 takes over its role.
Audi Q8 e-tron
The Q8 e-tron bowed out early in 2025 as Audi pulled back on costs and shuttered its Brussels plant. Slowing EV demand didn’t help, nor did the pressure to simplify production. Still, Audi insists this is more pause than goodbye. A successor is already in the works, likely emerging from Mexico around 2027. Until then, the brand’s electric spotlight shifts to newer platforms like the Q6 e-tron, with room left at the top for a future flagship.
BMW X4
The X4 didn’t disappear because it bombed—it disappeared because it no longer had a clear reason to exist. As BMW redesigned and upsized the X2, and with the X6 already covering the coupe-SUV idea at the higher end, the X4 found itself boxed in. Overlapping size, pricing, and mission, combined with softer sales, made it an easy cut. Rather than invest in another gas-powered generation, BMW ended production in late 2025 and cleared the way for an eventual all-electric iX4 on the Neue Klasse platform.
Cadillac XT4 and XT6
Cadillac trimmed its gas-powered crossover lineup in 2025, ending production of both the compact XT4 and the three-row XT6. The XT5 and Escalade remain—for now—but the brand continues to push toward an electric future, even as EV demand cools. The CT4 and CT5 sedans survive as well, along with their performance variants, though their sales volumes are thin enough to suggest the clock may already be ticking.
Chevrolet Malibu
Of all the exits, the Malibu’s hits hardest. Introduced in 1964 as a more upscale Chevelle, the Malibu eventually became a standalone midsize sedan and a fixture of American driveways. Over the decades, it evolved with the times—rear-wheel drive gave way to front-wheel drive, V8s to efficiency, and simplicity to safety and refinement. After a brief hiatus in the early 1980s, it returned in the late 1990s and quietly carried on through the crossover boom, outlasting many rivals. Its departure after the 2025 model year doesn’t just mark the end of a nameplate—it closes the door on an era when the midsize sedan was the default family car.
Infiniti QX50
Infiniti’s lineup is now alarmingly thin. For 2026, only the QX60 and QX80 remain. Every sedan is gone, as are the QX50 and QX55. The company continues to promise an EV-focused reset, but for the moment, Infiniti feels nearly as hollowed out as Chrysler—long on intentions, short on products.
Ford Escape
The Escape’s exit is one of the more puzzling decisions. Ford’s compact SUV continued to sell well right up to the end, routinely moving around 150,000 units a year. So why pull the plug? The answer lies in branding. The Bronco Sport shares much of the Escape’s hardware but benefits from the Bronco name’s rugged appeal. Ford chose to consolidate rather than compete with itself. Still, walking away from a proven seller is not without risk.
Kia Soul
I was at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show when the Soul debuted, back when Kia was still fighting to redefine itself. The boxy little crossover arrived at just the right time, tapping into a growing appetite for small, expressive utility vehicles. The now-iconic hamster ads gave it personality—and gave Kia a boost in credibility. But tastes change. As the market moved on, the Soul’s moment faded with it.
Nissan Versa
Once the cheapest new car you could buy in America, the Versa is gone. It joins the Altima and Maxima on the discontinued list, leaving the Sentra as Nissan’s only remaining sedan. The rest of the lineup now leans heavily on crossovers and trucks—though even the Titan pickup has been dropped. The GT-R is gone too. At least the Z lives on.
The End
That’s the business. Models come and go. Some disappear for good. Others return reinvented. Just look at the Chevrolet Bolt, which reenters the lineup in early 2026 as a 2027 model. General Motors promises a limited run built on a new platform with updated tech, betting that a second act might succeed where the first ran out of road.
Related Reading
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Kia Soul: Chronicling the Changes
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