I’ve always been fascinated with so-called "zombie cars," so I'm constantly looking for defunct models whenever a sales chart comes out. While all our stories so far have focused on new-but-old vehicles sold in the United States, here's one from Europe. It’s easily the most puzzling list we've ever seen since it includes quite a few relics.
Automotive News Europe cites analyst company Dataforce and its comprehensive sales chart of "new" vehicles that were first registered between January and July 2024. The one car that popped on my radar was the Fiat Multipla. Widely regarded as one of the ugliest vehicles ever made, someone bought a "new" Multipla last month. It's unclear whether it was the original version (top) or the much nicer facelifted model (bottom). Either way, it's at least 14 years old since production ended in 2010.
But the oddly styled six-seater is just one of many cars that were retired many moons ago yet still made the sales charts. Another zombie vehicle, even older, is the Nissan 350Z, which died in 2008. Someone who wanted a more practical vehicle bought a Volvo V50, a wagon that bowed out in 2012.
We're barely scratching the surface since there are numerous dead-but-alive cars: Mercedes CLK, Aston Martin DB7, Ford Ka, Alfa Romeo 159, Jaguar S-Type, and even a Rolls-Royce Corniche. The latter was retired nearly 30 years ago, making it the oldest to appear in the sales chart. Oh, there's also the XJS, a car that Jaguar stopped making in 1996. Not one, but two were first registered through July 2024.
| Model | Units Sold | Year Discontinued |
| Aston Martin DB7 | 1 | 2004 |
| BMW i3 | 16 | 2022 |
| BMW i8 | 1 | 2020 |
| BMW Z3 | 1 | 2002 |
| BMW Z8 | 1 | 2003 |
| Rolls-Royce Corniche | 1 | 1995 |
| Ferrari 550/575 | 1 | 2006 |
| Ferrari F430 | 1 | 2009 |
| Jaguar S-Type | 2 | 2007 |
| Jaguar XJS | 2 | 1996 |
| Volvo V50 | 1 | 2012 |
| Volvo S80 | 1 | 2016 |
| Volvo V40 | 1 | 2019 |
| Honda Prelude | 1 | 2001 |
| Mercedes SLK/SLC | 8 | 2020 |
| Mercedes CL | 2 | 2014 |
| Mercedes CLK | 1 | 2009 |
| Nissan 350Z | 1 | 2008 |
| Alfa Romeo 147 | 1 | 2010 |
| Alfa Romeo 159 | 1 | 2011 |
| Alfa Romeo GT | 1 | 2010 |
| Fiat Barchetta | 3 | 2005 |
| Volkswagen Beetle | 2 | 2019 |
It's worth noting Dataforce looked at the figures from all 27 EU countries, the UK, plus the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) consisting of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The document at the source link below shows the full list with more cars than the ones we highlighted. There are also no fewer than four Countaches, but let's keep in mind Lamborghini brought the name back a few years ago with the Aventador-based Countach LPI 800-4.
Honorable mentions go to the VW Golf Plus, Mini Coupe, Ford Fusion and Mondeo (listed separately), Ford Taurus, Polestar 1, and a Skoda Roomster.
In an email to Motor1, Dataforce's Senior Automotive Analyst, Benjamin Kibies, confirmed that these cars had never been registered before and are now with their first owners:
"The report does only show first registrations of a car. I agree it is confusing to see such old cars in the list. It looks like there are some residuals stocks of these cars, that have never been registered for road use before. At Dataforce, we do not want to change any of the information we get from the registrations authorities, unless we can be 100% sure it is an error."
