As the Volkswagen Beetle Nervously Awaits a Pink Slip, There's an Effort Afoot to Save It

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Rumors of the Volkswagen Beetle’s demise are either greatly exaggerated, or right on point. The Model languishes on the low end of the sales scale, hamstrung by a retro design that shuns updates and the public’s dwindling enthusiasm for compact cars.

Still, there exists fans of the model, even inside the scandal-shaken and SUV-fixated company. No one loves the Beetle more than VW design head Klaus Bischoff, who claims the model is his favorite in all Volkswagendom (um, have you seen the Atlas, Klaus?). So great is his love for the Beetle that Bischoff is urging VW to spare the model the axe and stimulate interest through a new method of propulsion.

A report suggests that top brass might be listening.

“We are fighting hard [for it] and considering a new electric bug,” Bischoff told VW Vortex at the North American International Auto Show. “Let’s see what we can do on that one.”

The design chief made it clear that VW has not, at this point, signed a death warrant for the venerable Beetle. Rumors of the model’s post-2018 disappearance so far seem to be just that. Still, the model’s long-term existence is anything but certain.

Volkswagen sold 15,667 Beetles in the U.S. last year, the third-lowest number since the model’s resurrection in the late 1990s, and a fraction of the 55,971 sales seen in 2003. Only two years saw fewer sales — 2009, during the depths of the recession, and 2011, during the changeover to the restyled 2012 model.

Could an alternative drivetrain lead to an upswing in sales for the endangered model? There’s no doubt that an electric Beetle (eBug?) would tick every box on the quirky checklist, potentially drawing in new fans, but cash-strapped VW might not see it as worth the expense. If VW does go that route, it could either cram the existing model with batteries, like its eGolf, or move the model onto the company’s dedicated MEB electric car platform.

[Image: Volkswagen Group]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • WallMeerkat WallMeerkat on Jan 23, 2017

    Renault has shown with the Twingo (sister car to the Smart ForFour) that it can be done with a modern car - so take it back to it's origins - plant a small engine in the rear powering the rear wheels! Do a "MINI", or even a "500", and create a trendy subbrand with retro-look chrome bumper and whitewall tyred versions, big engined hotrod versions, beach buggy, crossover SUV etc.

  • Zoomzoomfan Zoomzoomfan on Jan 23, 2017

    I've had two brand new red Beetles as rentals and I really liked driving both of them. They felt very solid, were very quiet, and plenty powerful even with the base motor and automatic transmission the rental models come with. One was a 2012 and one was a 2015 but both were new (I think I was the first renter of each). For someone that doesn't need four doors but wants a small/efficient-ish small car, they seem like a good choice. At least they're different.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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