[ecavuoto]

This is what is noted in Wikipedia:

"Sales of the Eos steadily declined, as hardtop convertibles fell out of favor with buyers. In addition, the Eos was based on the Mark 5 platform, and by 2014, it had become the last model produced on it. With sales declining, Volkswagen elected to not migrate the model to a more current platform, as a redesign would have proven costly."

Basically, with the popularity of SUVs and Pickups, and the increase of energy efficient cars, convertibles have fallen out of favor (soft and hard tops). Even Mercedes announced the end of the production of the SLC 300 in 2020.

 

[ecavuoto]

Designing, collaborating on a unique & complicated mechanical roof, then building & selling a vehicle only as a niche product? Seems like an intensive investment for a short-term product.

Well again as I mentioned, convertibles (hard and soft tops) have fallen out of favor to the SUVs, trucks, and energy efficient vehicles here in the USA. In nearly all instances, they are not the main vehicle in the home (when going food shopping, the wife's Tiguan is used).

They have fallen dramatically in sales from the peak market in 2004. Today, one out of 100 cars sold in the USA is a convertible, and it will continue to get worse as more convertibles are discontinued. The Buick Cascada soft top, whatever your opinion of the car, only lasted from 2016 to 2019. The Mercedes 300SLC ends production in 2020. The Beetle ends in 2019. It's a niche market car.

That said, I'm fortunate to be able to have my 2015 Eos. It was discounted $5,000 in the last year of production to make it very affordable. I'm not a muscle car guy and the Mercedes and BMW models were out of my price range then in 2015 as it is now. I enjoy driving it (more so now since I'm retired) and I plan to take care of it so it will outlive me. And that will be a long, long time...