Now it's getting ready for a comeback, and Volkswagen says it's bringing back the electric version of its up! runabout.
It's a move welcomed by environmentalists and electric mobility advocates who see smaller electric vehicles as crucial to sustainable transport.
Announcing its plans on Feb 11, the company did not give many details, but confirmed it was "relaunching the e-up! as an entry-level model for e-mobility."
Despite months of industry-wide delays and shortages, Volkswagen is promising the first e-up! deliveries in Europe starting in March.
Orders for the e-up! have been piling up over the past year and a half amid delays and a freeze on orders, but the VW is confident the e-up! should be available for orders "in the near future". The company says around 11,000 cars will be delivered for the first tranche.
Orders for the e-up! were frozen in 2020 amid chip shortages during the pandemic - not without controversy.
Climate activists have slammed VW and other car companies for prioritising bigger cars during the supply crisis with microchips, arguing that smaller car models should not be at a disadvantage compared to larger large electrics.
VW's much-hyped new ID series of electrics has yet to continue its downward expansion with smaller EV models. The company had hinted at at the end of 2020 it would add an electric in the smaller Polo class, prompting praise even from Greenpeace, an environmental organisation otherwise very sceptical of VW.
However, the fact that only a limited number of e-up!s are to go on sale at first is strange, says mobility industry expert Benjamin Stephan.
"You almost get the impression that Volkswagen wants a small electric car, but doesn't want to sell so many of them." At the same time, the high demand for the e-up! shows that people want small, efficient electric cars, Stephan says.
While mobility experts believe more models in smaller segments are essential for a shift in transport policies, car manufacturers usually only make a significant profit with small and compact if they can achieve very high sales figures.
Meanwhile more expensive models such as SUVs, sports cars and larger saloons usually yield higher profits, and extreme luxury supercars are frequently limited to only a few dozen models.
Experts believe that significantly cheaper and smaller cars are necessary if e-mobility is to succeed, and VW's e-up! may play a significant role here.
In addition, the more frugal use of resources in smaller electric cars would help reduce the CO2 burden around the world as many countries struggle to hit carbon emission targets.
