Not all cars on the market will do well, and many are even so bad that almost no one will buy them. After such a finding, the car manufacturer quickly withdraws the car from the market in order to eliminate financial losses. But how will it turn out if the car company artificially subsidizes long-term loss-making projects ? This is what the analytical company BersteinResearch tried to find out.
And she reached very interesting numbers. The most unprofitable car of all time is the Smart ForTwo , into which Mercedes poured 3 billion pounds (approx. 91.98 billion crowns), but only a fraction of it was returned. The model produced from 1997 to 2006 shows a loss of a dizzying 2.82 billion pounds (approx. 86.5 billion crowns). Only the transfer of Smart from the Swiss manufacturer of Swatch watches Nicholas Hayeck was expensive. Further millions and billions were then swallowed up by the construction of the Hambach factory, the development of a new platform and new three-cylinder engines.
But the German microcar is definitely not alone in this. The "toy" of Ferdinand Piech , the former head of the Volkswagen concern, was also expensive. The Bugatti Veyron shows a total loss worth 1.43 billion pounds (approx. 43.84 billion crowns), each piece costs a Volkswagen
The Volkswagen Phaeton , Fiat Stilo or Renault Laguna ranked next in the list of total losses, while each produced unit cost (costs) the car company the most in the case of the Volkswagen Phaeton, Peugeot 1007 or Jaguar X-Type. The following tables offer a complete ranking including losses:
Total losses
| Year of manufacture | Model | Loss |
| 1997-2006 | Smart ForTwo | 2.82 billion pounds (approx. 86.5 billion CZK) |
| 2001 – 2009 | Fiat Stilo | 1.77 billion pounds (approx. 54.2 billion CZK) |
| 2001 – to date | Volkswagen Phaeton | 1.68 billion pounds (approx. 51.5 billion CZK) |
| 2004 – 2009 | Peugeot 1007 | 1.59 billion pounds (approx. 48.7 billion CZK) |
| 1997-2004 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 1.44 billion pounds (approx. 44.1 billion CZK) |
| 2005 – 2013 | Bugatti Veyron | 1.43 billion pounds (approx. 43.8 billion CZK) |
| 2001 – 2009 | Jaguar X-Type | 1.43 billion pounds (approx. 43.8 billion CZK) |
| 2006-2012 | Renault Laguna | 1.3 billion pounds (approx. 39.8 billion CZK) |
| 2000-2005 | Audi A2 | 1.2 billion pounds (approx. 36.8 billion CZK) |
| 2001 – 2009 | Renault Vel Satis | 1 billion pounds (approx. 30.7 billion CZK) |
Loss on one unit sold
| Year of manufacture | Model | Loss |
| 2005 – 2013 | Bugatti Veyron | 3,887,051 liber (approx. 119 million CZK) |
| 2001 – to date | Volkswagen Phaeton | 23,655 pounds (approx. 725,000 CZK) |
| 2001 – 2009 | Renault Vel Satis | 15,751 pounds (approx. 483 thousand CZK) |
| 2004 – 2009 | Peugeot 1007 | 12,947 pounds (approx. 397,000 CZK) |
| 2000-2005 | Audi A2 | 6,340 pounds (approx. 194,000 CZK) |
| 2001 – 2009 | Jaguar X-Type | 3945 Liber (approx. 121 thousand CZK) |
| 1997-2006 | Smart ForTwo | 3762 Liber (approx. 115 thousand CZK) |
| 2006-2012 | Renault Laguna | 2968 Liber (approx. 91 thousand CZK) |
| 2001 – 2009 | Fiat Stilo | 2,297 pounds (approx. 70,000 CZK) |
| 1997-2004 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 1214 Liber (approx. 37 thousand CZK) |
Source: Autocar, BersteinResearch
