Over the past few years, manufacturers have announced significant changes to their model lineups, with many discontinuing some of the most iconic cars ever made. The likes of which include Ford’s Focus, Citroen Saxo and the renowned Audi TT.
With these announcements, it begs the question: if you own one of these models, could you be on your way to owning a potential future classic?
We’ve taken a look at some of the most popular car models that are now discontinued in the UK, analysing the total number of registrations year on year to see which could be the next modern classic.
The cars analysed:
- Audi TT – discontinued in November 2023
- Citroën Saxo – discontinued in September 2003
- Fiat Punto – discontinued in August 2018
- Ford KA – discontinued in January 2021
- Ford Focus – discontinued in November 2025
- Ford Mondeo – discontinued in April 2022
- Peugeot 306 – discontinued in July 2002
- Peugeot 307 – discontinued in September 2007
- Vauxhall Astra – discontinued in April 2022
- Volkswagen Beetle – discontinued in July 2019
The everyday cars turning into tomorrow’s classics
1. Citroën Saxo
Born in 1996, the Citroën Saxo has become a true classic. Named from combining the Citroën AX and Peugeot 106, which shared the same platform and running gear, the Saxo name is known to many petrol heads. Popular amongst young drivers as the perfect first car due to its small engine and low insurance costs, its production ran until late 2003, eventually being replaced by the Citroën C2 and C3. In the past 5 years, the nimble hatchback has seen a huge 72% decline in the number of registrations, with just over 9,500 left on our roads. If you own a model of any variation, we recommend holding on to it as soon as you have a piece of motoring history.
2. Peugeot 307
The 307 is one of Peugeot’s most successful models, selling over 3.7 million units worldwide. As of 2020, there were 339,040 registered 307s on UK roads. Fast forward five years, and this number has decreased significantly, with just 113,463 registered. The 307 was discontinued nearly 20 years ago, so don’t be surprised if you continue to see less and less on our roads.
3. Peugeot 306
Replaced by the 307, the 306 was discontinued in 2022. Made up of three model variants, the hatchback, estate and cabriolet and the saloon, this 306 was aimed at a range of driver types. The brand sold nearly 3 million units during its 9-year production, and now the UK is home to just 15,000 of them.
Find out below how fast other potential future classics are fading out.
“The saying you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone is true of cars too,” says Mark Roper. Managing Director of classic car insurance specialist, Hagerty UK. “Cars that were once commonplace can disappear overnight and that rarity can turn a once normal car into a much loved classic. Hagerty has been at the forefront of this movement for nearly 20 years, our own Festival of the Unexceptional is an event dedicated to cars now considered rare but used to be seen on every UK street not that long ago. Choosing the right future classic is a lot of fun and could be your chance to own a piece of motoring history.”
For many of us, the experience of buying and owning a car brings great joy. The thought of it becoming a potential driving classic? Something we don’t always think about. But should you own one of the 10 cars listed above, you might start to think twice about saying goodbye, as in years to come, you could potentially own a modern classic.
Keep your classic on the road
At Hagerty, our mission is simple: to help you protect the car you love. Discover trusted classic car insurance from the people who get it.
Methodology
To find out which cars could be on their way to being classics, we looked at popular car models that are no longer in production, using howmanyleft.co.uk to find the total number of registrations year on year between 2019 and 2024.
We then measured the % increase or decrease in this number across the 5-year period to find out which are disappearing from our roads.
