Toyota Confirms Avalon is Discontinued After 2022 Model Year

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Toyota Avalon Sedan Will End Production in 2022


https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...lon-dead-2022/

It's not entirely surprising. The Avalon's annual sales, per the car's Wikipedia page, slipped south of 20,000 units in the US for the first time ever (for a full model year) last year. To Toyota's credit, the Avalon outlived a majority of rivals like the Ford Taurus, Buick LaCrosse, and Chevrolet Impala.

And with that, PSA's Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger duo are the last big intermediate sedans on the US market. Some articles such as this one also point to the Nissan Maxima, but as a driver of a current-gen Maxima, I can confirm its size and space are very much in line with midsize Camrys and Accords - the Maxima hasn't been on the large side for a couple generations now.

Consumers moved away from large sedans for multiple reasons, I believe. For one, midsize sedans have gotten quite roomy and offer about the same levels of space, detail, and technology for thousands less even when well-equipped. And secondly, people wanting more practicality, space, cache, AWD/4WD, or most any other reason for buying a large car will instead buy an SUV or crossover. Similarly, most of these cars lack a "cool factor" that people seem to find in something with a luxury brand such as a Lexus ES, BMW 3-Series, or other sedans which are priced at the next tier up. I always liked big cars though and think this was largely a missed opportunity. Dodge has proven for years a big sedan can still sell; they leaned into style and performance which has resonated with people all over, and for now its sales have held on far better than rivals. To put it another way, in my opinion the Charger has transcended simply being a "big sedan" and whether or not it's your kind of car, it clearly is aspirational for many people. In recent decades General Motors and Ford could've pretty easily utilized exiting platforms and models and brought similar concepts to the market (the former even did briefly as the Pontiac G8/Chevy SS and Chevy Caprice). The Avalon was never that kind of car, but I don't think the large car market needed to die as rapidly as it did.