Demand for the Beetle and other hatchbacks has been crushed by years of low gasoline prices and the American consumer’s appetite shifting toward SUVs and pickups
The German automaker marked the end of production of the iconic Beetle at its plant in Puebla, Mexico, on Wednesday and wasted no time talking about what will take its place, a compact sport utility vehicle likely to be called Tarek.
It’ll be a beefed-up version of a model sold in China named Tharu. “We’ll adapt the Chinese model for this market,” Steffen Reiche, chief executive officer of VW’s Mexico business, said during an event at the Puebla plant. “Our version will be the stronger one, the rougher one compared to the Chinese one.”
Demand for the Beetle and other hatchbacks has been crushed by years of low gasoline prices and the American consumer’s appetite shifting toward SUVs and pickups.
Trucks have been capturing record share of the US market, prompting automakers including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Ford Motor Co to drop many of the passenger car models from their lineups.
Production of VW’s new compact SUV will begin at Puebla in 2020, with the model reaching US dealerships in 2021. VW announced the plans about a month after Mexico became the first country to ratify the overhauled North American free-trade deal known as the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). The accord requires that 75% of vehicle content be sourced from North America to cross borders tariff-free.
The rules represent a ‘big challenge’ for VW, whose regional content is now at 64%, Reiche said. VW’s Puebla plant also builds the Jetta sedan and Tiguan SUV. Reiche said the very last edition of the Beetle will be sold online through Amazon in a move symbolising the company’s embrace of the future.
The ‘bug,’ as the Beetle was nicknamed, debuted in 1938 as an affordable vehicle commissioned by Adolf Hitler to promote car ownership among Germans. With its funky design and inexpensive price, the car became a success story over subsequent decades and was one of the top-selling models of all time as well as the best-selling import in the United States in the 1960s, according to auto publications.
Despite its place in popular culture, sales of the Beetle have been lackluster in recent years. The German automaker announced in September that the Beetle would go extinct.
“Today is the last day. It has been very emotional,” he said. The current design was the third version of the Beetle after two earlier cancellations and revivals of the marque.
(With inputs from agencies)
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