Rust in pieces: The cars axed in 2025

Amidst all the excitement of new car brands arriving in Australia (seemingly by the day), it's easy to forget that not every member of the class of 2025 will be joining us in the new year.

Consider this our in memoriam section, where we celebrate the models removed from sale this year.

Be it falling sales, increased competition or just changing tastes, these are the models we farewell for good in 2025.

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Toyota Fortuner 

After a 10-year wait, Toyota finally pulled the covers off a new(ish) HiLux in 2025, but that big news also came with a bit of a surprise – the venerable, but admittedly slow-selling, Fortuner would be discontinued. 

Toyota's family friendly ute-based SUV failed to find the traction that the Ranger-based Everest managed, and so the new HiLux won't be spawning a replacement, at least not in Australia.

"With the launch of the new-model HiLux, I would also like to announce that Toyota will be discontinuing the Fortuner SUV that shares the same platform as the current-generation HiLux from about mid-next-year," Toyota's then VP of Sales and Marketing, Sean Hanley, told us.

"Of course, Fortuner has been a great product for us over the years and found a relatively small but enthusiastic customer base. But with production ending next year and customer preferences shifting in Australia, we made the decision to discontinue the Fortuner."

Hyundai i30 Hatch 

A bit of a weird one this, given the i30 Hatch is still super popular in its segment (it trails only the Corolla in terms of sales).

But it wasn't popularity, or a lack of it, that killed the i30 Hatch. Rather it was its place of origin. Essentially, Hyundai blames "complexity and costs" associated with bringing the model to Australia from its Czech production facility.

The i30 Sedan, and the i30 N Hatch, will live on – sourced from South Korea – but production for the regular Hatch ended in December. Deliveries should continue into 2026 though.

"“i30 MHEV [mild-hybrid] production for the Australian market will cease from December 2025,” a spokesperson told us.

“The decision has been made to discontinue this model due to sourcing complexities and costs out of Europe.”

Volvo C40 Recharge

Volvo's handsome coupe-style electric SUV, the C40 Recharge, shuffled off our mortal automotive coil earlier this year, with new shipments ending around May

The problem, says Volvo, was increased competition, only this time from within the brand itself, with the Volvo EX30 and EX40 operating in a similar sphere.

“We constantly evaluate our model/variant line-up and how they fit into the local business equation," a Volvo spokesperson told us.

“With the introduction of the EX30 and also an EX40 our belief is we have adequate cover in that segment."

Volvo S60 and V60 Cross Country

You can blame SUVs for this one, with the S60 and V60 Cross Country the only two passenger cars remaining in Volvo's fleet (save the ES90 electric sedan which will commence deliveries next year).

The S60 especially has some lineage in Australia, first launching in 2019. But sales had slowed to a trickle – over the first six months of 2025, 37 examples of the S60 found homes, while the V60 Cross Country fared slightly better, with 78 sold. 

KGM Korando

You can technically still buy a Korando in Australia, but shipments have ended, and the company is slowly making its way through remaining dealer stock.

But to give you an idea of where the Korando is at in terms of popularity, in November a spokesperson told us there were about 80 examples of the Korean small SUV left, and that it would take until mid-2026 to shift them.

The ageing Korando didn't really fit with KGM's lineup vision for Australia, with the rebranded brand (it was SsangYong), with the Korean outfit confirming the Torres EVX, a Torres hybrid version and an all-electric ute, the Musso EV, towards the end of 2025.

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Once Australia's best-selling large SUV, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was removed from sale in March this year, amidst a perfect storm of rising prices and falling demand.

Officially, the model was "paused", but the wording of the statement feels plenty more definite than that.

"As we look to right-size the Jeep product portfolio to match local market dynamics and customer preferences, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause availability of the current model Jeep Grand Cherokee in Australia,” a Stellantis spokesperson said at the time.

"While the Jeep Grand Cherokee will continue to be sold in many countries around the world, this decision allows us to focus our efforts on placing the right products in the right segments that can have the greatest relevance for our customers."

Toyota Granvia

The spiritual successor for the undeniably iconic Tarago, the Granvia people-mover, got the chop earlier this year, with the brand conceding that the retiring, rather than upgrading, the nameplate was the right move.

And we'd agree. Amidst Toyota's many hits, the Granvia stood out as the brand's slowest seller, shifting just 117 units in 2024.

"We initially planned to upgrade the Granvia to meet the new standard but upon reviewing sales, market conditions, production complexity and future regulations, we decided not to proceed and to instead retire the nameplate," Toyota said in a statement at the time.