The global automobile market is filled with hundreds of cars available across lots of segments. Not every car turns out to be profitable for its manufacturers and there have been times when cars have even turned out to be loss making. Let us have a look at three of the most loss making cars of modern times.
1) Smart ForTwo – The Smart ForTwo is a compact little hatchback and the first generation of the vehicle was available for sale from 1997 to 2006. The manufacturer suffered a loss of 4470 Euros per unit of the ForTwo that were produced and the company suffered total losses of 3.35 billion Euros in the first generation’s entire lifespan. The ForTwo is a rear engine, rear-wheel drive car and it was sold in 46 countries in Asia, North America, South America, Africa, Europe and Australia.
2) Fiat Stilo – The Fiat Stilo is yet another hatchback and this model was sold from 2001-2009 in the global markets. With a loss of 2730 Euros per unit, Fiat recorded a total loss of 2.10 billion Euros after which the Stilo was eventually axed. The vehicle was sold in 3-door and 5-door variants and it was meant to be a replacement for the Fiat Bravo. After getting discontinued, it was again replaced by the new generation Bravo.
3) Volkswagen Phaeton – The Volkswagen Phaeton is a high-end premium luxury sedan competing with the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7-Series and Audi A8L. The Phaeton made Volkswagen suffer a loss of 28,100 Euros per unit and between 2001-2012, the company suffered losses of 1.90 billion Euros thanks to this model. Volkswagen is unaffected by these losses and is planning to launch a new generation of the Phaeton that will compete with the same German sedans. Volkswagen will do some cost-cutting and will try to sell the vehicle in decent numbers.