Marketing and selling a new car can be a risk for auto manufacturers. A new entry in the car market requires time and money to design, market, and manufacture it. If the new model finds success, it can be a coup for car companies– and establishing a new and popular brand can pay off for years.
Most of the top-selling models in the United States sell over 100,000 units each year. The Mazda CX-5, which first went on sale in the U.S. in 2012, sold over 150,000 units in the U.S. in 2018 and will come close to that figure this year. But completely new car models often fail — either because of poor reviews or a changing market — and usually after a few years they are discontinued. These are the cars Americans don’t want to buy.
As the decade comes to a close, 24/7 Wall St. looked back on some of the models introduced in the 2010s that failed to gain traction in the U.S. auto market. Using historical auto sales data from car sales data website goodcarbadcar.net, 24/7 Wall St. identified the worst selling new cars of the decade.
None of the vehicles on this list sold more than 50,000 units in the United States in total during the decade, even with at least two years of sales, the majority failed to break 10,000 units sold in a single year. Some of these brands are still being sold today, while others have already been discontinued.
These cars are sold by a variety of manufacturers and under a number of brands. Some are outliers for otherwise relatively highly-successful brands. On the other hand, there are also several Fiats and Infinitis on this list, brands that have been struggling as a whole in recent years.
As car sales for a new model disappoint, manufacturers will often offer discounts to try and move their excess inventories. A number of the cars on this list have gotten cheaper over the years. This is every car brand’s cheapest model.
Click here to see the worst selling cars of the decade.
Click here to see our methodology.
26. Hyundai Ioniq
> Decade-long unit sales: 43,188
> Years sold: 2017-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 16,915 (2019)
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25. Kia Cadenza
> Decade-long unit sales: 42,939
> Years sold: 2013-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 9,267 (2014)
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24. Lexus RC
> Decade-long unit sales: 42,305
> Years sold: 2014-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 14,784 (2015)
23. Fiat 500x
> Decade-long unit sales: 37,026
> Years sold: 2015-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 12,599 (2016)
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22. Fiat 500L
> Decade-long unit sales: 33,935
> Years sold: 2013-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 12,413 (2014)
21. Lincoln Continental
> Decade-long unit sales: 30,773
> Years sold: 2016-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 12,012 (2017)
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20. Kia Stinger
> Decade-long unit sales: 29,419
> Years sold: 2017-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 16,806 (2018)
19. Infiniti QX30
> Decade-long unit sales: 27,257
> Years sold: 2016-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 14,093 (2017)
18. Infiniti Q70
> Decade-long unit sales: 26,295
> Years sold: 2015-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 7,822 (2015)
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17. Jaguar XE
> Decade-long unit sales: 23,861
> Years sold: 2016-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 9,278 (2017)
16. Jaguar F-Type
> Decade-long unit sales: 23,402
> Years sold: 2013-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 4,659 (2015)
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15. Alfa Romeo Stelvio
> Decade-long unit sales: 21,608
> Years sold: 2017-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 12,043 (2018)
14. Buick Cascada
> Decade-long unit sales: 19,834
> Years sold: 2016-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 7,153 (2016)
13. Infiniti QX70
> Decade-long unit sales: 19,279
> Years sold: 2015-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 6,878 (2017)
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12. Hyundai Equus
> Decade-long unit sales: 18,154
> Years sold: 2011-2017
> Maximum annual sales: 4,256 (2012)
11. Toyota 86
> Decade-long unit sales: 16,148
> Years sold: 2016-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 6,846 (2017)
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10. Acura RLX
> Decade-long unit sales: 16,135
> Years sold: 2013-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 5,014 (2013)
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9. Scion iQ
> Decade-long unit sales: 15,707
> Years sold: 2011-2017
> Maximum annual sales: 8,879 (2012)
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8. Chevrolet SS
> Decade-long unit sales: 12,906
> Years sold: 2013-2018
> Maximum annual sales: 4,055 (2017)
7. Fiat 124 Spider
> Decade-long unit sales: 12,683
> Years sold: 2016-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 4,478 (2017)
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6. Toyota Mirai
> Decade-long unit sales: 5,971
> Years sold: 2015-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 1,838 (2017)
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5. Kia K900
> Decade-long unit sales: 5,825
> Years sold: 2014-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 2,524 (2015)
4. Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive
> Decade-long unit sales: 4,133
> Years sold: 2010-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 1,906 (2015)
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3. Cadillac ELR
> Decade-long unit sales: 2,891
> Years sold: 2013-2017
> Maximum annual sales: 1,310 (2014)
2. Mitsubishi i-MiEV
> Decade-long unit sales: 2,148
> Years sold: 2011-2017
> Maximum annual sales: 1,029 (2013)
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1. Alfa Romeo 4C
> Decade-long unit sales: 1,993
> Years sold: 2014-2019
> Maximum annual sales: 663 (2015)
Methodology:
Using historical auto sales data from car sales data website goodcarbadcar.net, 24/7 Wall St. identified the worst selling new cars of the decade. We only considered models that were first sold in 2010 or later, and for which at least two full years of sales have been completed. If the model was previously sold before 2010, it needed to have been off the market for at least a year before being reintroduced this decade.
This list is not necessarily a complete list of all poor-selling vehicles in the U.S. Because luxury models are often intended to be sold at lower volumes, models that had MSRPs in excess of $100,000 were also excluded. For many of the cars on this list, the range of years sold ends with the year 2019. This does not necessarily mean the car will no longer be sold in 2020, but simply that 2019 is the most recent year for which sales were recorded with the model.
These data are current as of Dec. 2, 2019, which means that 2019 sales figures are not complete for these vehicles unless they have already been taken off the market. Manufacturers release sales figures on a monthly or quarterly basis. All sales figures are as reported by goodcarbadcar.net.
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