- Nissan has canceled the Versa subcompact sedan for 2026.
- It was the last new car for sale in the U.S. with a list price under $20,000.
The sub-$20,000 car is dead.
Nissan has canceled the last new car for sale in the U.S. with a list price under the $20,000 line, its Versa subcompact sedan.
In a statement, the company said, “In line with Nissan’s product strategy, the Nissan Versa ended production in December 2025 for the U.S. market.”
Versa sedans under $20,000 were already a near-myth. Only the bare-bones base model, the Versa S, qualified, and few dealers stocked that trim.
Its formal cancellation, however, means you can’t even order a new car under warranty for less than $20,000 in the U.S.
The Versa joins a long list of subcompact models canceled in recent years. The Chevy Spark, America’s least-expensive new car for several years, left the market in 2022. So did the Hyundai Accent. Then, the Kia Rio. The Mitsubishi Mirage followed in 2024.
KBB research found that, with the Versa S virtually impossible to find, the last sub-$20,000 car may have been sold late in 2025.
Automakers have increasingly pivoted to focus on wealthier, better-credit buyers in recent years.
In 2017, they built 61 models priced at $60,000 or more. By the end of 2025, they built 114.
At the other end of the market, in 2017, they offered 36 models priced at $25,000 or less when factoring in the destination fee. Today, they build four: the Chevrolet Trax, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Nissan Kicks, and Hyundai Venue.
Hyundai Venue Is New Title Holder
The Venue is the new holder of the cheapest car title.
Its hold could be threatened eventually. Slate Auto, a startup funded partly by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and staffed with ex-Amazon executives, will attempt to produce an extremely-low-cost electric pickup for the 2027 model year. However, the recent end of the $7,500 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit threatens to push even that truck’s price over $25,000.
