The $25k car is going extinct?

There are a growing number of electrical cars priced below 25K euro in the EU and a few below 20K even. I mention electrical cars because that's where all the growth is. Electrical cars are now becoming cheaper than the cheapest ICE cars. You mentioned Dacia. VW is bringing out the ID2 next year. There's a few Stellantis models from e.g. Citroen. And of course BYD is now selling cheap cars in the EU as well. And those are just the vaguely European cars (lots of Chinese components involved). Japanese, Korean, and Chinese manufacturers are also growing their EV market here. Notably absent (except for a handful of Ford compliance cars and Tesla) are US manufacturers.

The article is specifically about the US market, which because of the tariff situation is becoming highly distorted. The local producers are making what are increasingly US only models that can't really compete internationally. This excludes mass produced small cars because they can't do them competitively any more as that would require high volumes and export markets. But mostly US car makers are struggling with export markets. There are a few exceptions to this of course.

In China, the competition is pretty brutal right now and it's starting to spill over to other markets. That's all about budget cars and redefining what a budget car actually is. Any export markets where US manufacturers still have any ambitions are being affected by this. BYD and other Chinese manufacturers are gaining market share (at the cost of other manufacturers) all over Asia, Central and South America, Australia, Africa, Europe, etc. Even Mexico and Canada are not off limits and these are the primary export markets for GM and Ford.

Small cars are booming everywhere. Except the US.