After 4 decades, the end of Gol and Uno ends the cycle of ‘popular cars’

After four decades on the market, two of the automobiles most sold in the country, responsible for the introduction of new technologies and with legions of fans, will no longer be produced.

the icons Fiat One is Volkswagen Gol are the last “popular cars”, a segment that has already accounted for 70% of sales in the country.

Currently classified as “entrance cars”, which are the cheapest of each brand, they no longer have such attractive prices. Technologically outdated, they are unable to receive improvements in energy safety and efficiency.

Next year, the legislation establishes a lower rate of emissions for new cars. In 2024, everyone will have to have stability control, an important security item.

For the same reason Volkswagen retired the Kombi in 2013, at 56 years of age. The Gol, now 41 years old, is still the brand’s best seller (tied with T-Cross), but it doesn’t have the same representation that it had in the 27 years it was market leader, from 1987 to 2014.

With 51,000 units sold this year – 67% for fleet owners – the retirement of Gol should take place in 2022. Uno, in turn, should be discontinued this year. He sold 19,300 units – 97% to fleet owners.

Generation

“Gol marked a time and was the dream of many people’s consumption, especially the sports versions”, says Fernando Almeida, 52, an employee of an electric cable company in Curitiba (PR).

At 18, the biggest fascination of the then office boy was the Gol GT and, later, the GTI, the first Brazilian car with electronic injection.

With no money to buy what was then a luxury car, Almeida only realized his dream in 2004 when, already financially stabilized, he started to buy old versions of the first generation Gol and now has a collection of 25 copies.

When Gol was launched in 1980, there were few brands in the country; today there are several “and the models are very similar, which reduces the seduction they had at the time”, says Almeida.

Designed and developed in the country, it is Volkswagen’s largest production model in the region, with 8.6 million units. It had different versions, from the first “square” to the current one, derived from the “bolinha”, from 1994. It was the first car with electronic injection in the country and the first with a flex engine.

According to the CEO of Volkswagen Latin America, Pablo Di Si, the brand’s new entry-level car will be the Polo Track, which will arrive in 2023, a more laid-back version of the Polo. The cheapest Gol costs R$ 67.8 thousand and the Track will cost more than R$ 70 thousand.

Di Si admits that the challenge will be to position the brand’s image in front of people used to looking for a popular car. “We will have to learn to deal with this and explain clearly what changes are needed, as they guarantee greater safety for the driver.”

Popular

The Uno is also Fiat’s best seller and had 4.3 million units produced. Its replacement is already on the market – the Mobi, which sold 62,000 units this year.

“Uno is responsible for the motorization of many Brazilians”, says Cássio Pagliarini, from Bright Consulting. For him, the two icons must be the last ones with great longevity. New vehicles are no longer on the market for so long.

Without Uno and Gol, there will be two models of entry cars left, the Mobi and the Renault Kwid. What’s ahead are more sophisticated and more expensive vehicles.

“You can’t imagine cars that simple anymore; today’s models have much more technology”, says Luiz Carlos Moraes, from Anfavea (Assembly Association).

Other cars that are leaving are Fit, Civic, Siena, Doblò, Voyage, Saveiro, Joy, Sandero and Logan.

The information is from the newspaper The State of São Paulo.