Another Automaker Has a Blunt Take on Why Wagons Are Fading Away

It was only a couple of months ago that Mercedes’ Head of Exterior Design gave his blunt take on the state of the wagon in 2026. Robert Lešnik said “nobody is buying them in America” and the “Chinese don’t understand them.” Now, a mainstream automaker is also sounding the alarm for estates as the segment continues to decline. Hyundai’s European boss believes the future looks bleak for this body style as SUVs continue to gain traction.

Speaking with Auto Express, Xavier Martinet said Hyundai isn’t spending money on new wagons because there isn’t enough customer interest to justify fresh investment. Echoing Mercedes’ position, Hyundai has also concluded that buyers in the United States and China are not interested in wagons. The company still caters to wagon enthusiasts in select markets where the i30 Estate remains available, but the model is beginning to show its age after nearly a decade on sale.

‘There’s a reason we don’t talk about estates much: in this segment demand is not growing. You allocate your investment and [engineering] resources to projects that make the most sense. Right now, there’s some demand, but not a lot, so it doesn’t justify it.’

SUVs Are More Profitable

Aside from weak demand, there’s another reason Hyundai isn’t allocating budget and resources to new wagons. Martinet admitted SUVs generate higher profit margins: “Usually we manage to make more money with an SUV than a station wagon.” While it’s easy to criticize automakers for launching the umpteenth crossover, that’s what buyers want, and it makes the company more money than a slow-selling wagon with a lower profit margin than an equivalent SUV.

That’s not to say wagons are dead. Europe remains the last bastion for long-roof models, and there are still plenty of compact and midsize estate cars for buyers who don’t want to deal with the downsides of an SUV. From the Volkswagen Golf Variant to the BMW 5 Series Touring, Europeans remain relatively spoiled for choice. Just last week, Audi brought back the A6 Allroad and gave it some RS6-worthy wide hips.

Even Hyundai’s sister brand Kia remains committed to the segment, launching the K4 Sportswagon in Europe as a replacement for the aging Ceed Sportswagon. It competes against models such as the Skoda Octavia Combi from the VW Group and the Peugeot 308 SW from Stellantis. It shows that the wagon isn’t completely dead, but there’s clearly more money to be made with SUVs.

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Source: Motor1.com

Motor1’s Take: I don’t think the wagon segment will ever disappear. Even with the meteoric rise of crossovers and SUVs, there will always be a group of buyers who prefer an estate for all the benefits it offers. Having owned a Fabia Combi back in the day, I’m certainly among them, and I’m fortunate to live in Europe.

However, I realize there’s not much choice outside the continent, and given the current state of the market, that situation is unlikely to change. On a positive note, Audi has confirmed that the A6 Allroad will return to the U.S. in 2027.