VW calls time on production of classic
DETROIT: Production of the Beetle car is set to end after nearly seven decades of onagain offagain sales in the United States.
Volkswagen’s American division announced yesterday it would stop making the thirdgeneration bulbous bug from next July after two special editions were offered for sale.
The compact Beetle was first introduced in Germany in 1938 during the Nazi era and came to the US 11 years later, where it became a symbol of utilitarian transportation often used by hippies. It sold for about 30 years before US sales stopped in 1979.
The last of the original bugs was produced in Puebla, Mexico, in 2003.
In 1998, Volkswagen revived it in the US as a more modern ‘‘New Beetle’’, attracting mainly female buyers. The company revamped it for the 2012 model year in an effort to make it appeal to men, giving it a flatter roof, less bulbous shape, a bigger boot and a navigation system.
US sales rose to nearly 29,000 in the first year, but tailed off after that. Last year VW sold only 8627, according to Autodata Corp.
The special editions, which come in coupe and convertible body styles, get unique beige and blue colours in addition to the normal hues. They also get standard extra chrome, new wheels and threecolour ambient lighting inside.
Volkswagen has no immediate plans to revive the Beetle, but the company would not rule it out.
‘‘I would say ‘never say never’,’’ VW of America chief exeutive Hinrich Woebcken said yesterday. — AP