In just a few months, there won’t be a single car left on the market under $20,000.
The subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage is the only new car that’s selling under that price level, and the manufacturer has discontinued it in the U.S., with the 2024 model being the final edition.
Fewer than 1,700 new Mirages are still up for sale across the country, according to a new Kelley Blue Book report. Separate data from Edmunds shows that only 691 under-$20,000 Mirages were available as of Wednesday.
“At the current sales pace, the final sub-$20,000 vehicle will go extinct by the end of the summer,” Kelley Blue Book said in the report.
As recently as 2019, top-selling cars such as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla had MSRPs — that’s manufacturer’s suggested retail price — under $20,000. Those days are gone, and budget-strapped car shoppers have been left behind.
“Fewer price-sensitive buyers will be able to find a new car that works for them,” Brian Moody, executive editor for Kelley Blue Book, tells Money in an email. “Unfortunately, this might also mean buyers looking to finance a car that is out of their price range for a longer term than would make sense so that the payment can be ‘affordable.’”
While car shoppers may feel nostalgic for the era when a new car could be snagged for under $20,000, few will miss the Mirage itself.
The model was criticized by various car review experts, including those at Consumer Reports. “Mitsubishi’s tiny, Thailand-built subcompact seems like an act of desperation, dressing a primitive Asia-market car with some upscale toys and calling it a day,” the site wrote in its review, adding, “The weak, vibrating and incredibly noisy three-cylinder engine provides sluggish acceleration, handling is clumsy, and the cabin is depressingly low-rent.”
The vehicle has been selling slowly, too. Kelley Blue Book reports a sales pace of just over 1,000 units per month. While there’s almost no competition in the new vehicle market at the sub-$20,000 price point, car shoppers with these budgets typically prefer to shop used where they can find larger vehicles with more features.
“A lot of these Mirages — they’re 2024 — they’ve been sitting on the lot for over a year, and I can guarantee you some of them have been sitting for over two years,” says Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insights. “If there was a market for it, they would have been bought.”
So where does this leave car shoppers on a budget?
“They are either going to have to continue fixing their current transportation or concede defeat and end up with a used car — or find alternate transportation altogether,” Drury says.
Beyond the Mirage, a few other cars are sometimes listed below $20,000, including discounted base trims of the Kia K4 and Kia Soul, Drury says. There’s also the Nissan Versa, a subcompact sedan that will be discontinued after 2025. But all of these vehicles have average transaction prices above $20,000.
Americans consistently say in surveys that they want more affordable cars, but manufacturers have discontinued subcompact budget models in recent years because relatively few shoppers actually choose them at dealerships.
Driving a small car can feel unsafe in the U.S. with so many large trucks and SUVs on the road. Additionally, features like remote start and ventilated seats have become must-haves for many shoppers, which rules out base models of the cheapest new vehicles from their searches, Drury says.
But the death of the $20,000 car still carries significance for the subset of consumers that’s been drawn to them.
“There is a cumulative impact because those sub $20,000 cars have been slowly disappearing over time,” Moody says. “Cars like the Chevrolet Spark, Ford Festiva, Hyundai Accent, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa are all no longer available as new cars. There are good substitutes, but the price is likely closer to $26,000. Also, with the price of used cars already heading up, the extra demand won’t help bargain hunters.”
In the under-$30,000 price range, Moody says there are a mix of good options, mentioning cars like the Nissan Sentra and the Volkswagen Jetta, which are considered reliable sedans.
Asked if the sub-$20,000 car could ever make a comeback, he says it’s a possibility if a startup or a foreign brand decides to pursue it.
“The lack of low-priced new cars could be an opportunity,” he adds. “In Europe, the Renault Clio, Toyota Aygo X, Dacia Logan, Dacia Sandero, Citroen AMI and Fiat Panda are all affordable — could any of that work in the U.S.? Stranger things have happened.”
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According to a recent report from Money.com, the days of finding a new car for under $20,000 are coming to an end. The only remaining option is the subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage, but even that will soon be discontinued in the U.S. with the 2024 model being the final edition. Currently, there are fewer than 1,700 new Mirages available for sale across the country, according to Kelley Blue Book. Edmunds also reports that as of Wednesday, there were only 691 under-$20,000 Mirages available. At the current sales pace, the last sub-$20,000 vehicle will likely go extinct by the end of the summer. This is a significant change from just a few years ago when popular cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla had MSRPs under $20,000. Unfortunately, this means that budget-conscious car shoppers will have a harder time finding a new car that fits their needs and budget. The Mirage itself has received criticism from car experts, with Consumer Reports calling it a “primitive” and “low-rent” vehicle. Sales have also been slow, with just over 1,000 units sold per month. While there are a few other options on the market, such as discounted base trims of the Kia K4 and Kia Soul, they still have average transaction prices above $20,000. This leaves budget car shoppers with the choice of either continuing to fix their current transportation or settling for a used car. It’s a disappointing reality for those looking for affordable new cars, but it seems that the market is shifting towards higher-priced vehicles.
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