End of the Beetle

Volkswagen ceased global production of its iconic Beetle in 2019. Volkswagen revived the car in the US in 1998 but it attracted mainly female buyers. The company revamped it for the 2012 model year in an effort to make it appeal to men. US sales rose to over 46,000 in 2013 but tailed off after that.

The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a two-door, four passenger, rear-engine economy car manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003.

The car was formulated by Adolf Hitler who wanted a cheap, simple car, mass produced for Germany's new road network. He contracted Porsche to design and build it to his standards.

On 26 May 1938, Hitler laid the cornerstone for the Volkswagen factory in Fallersleben. The factory had only produced a handful of cars by the start of the war in 1939; the first volume-produced versions of the car's chassis were military vehicles, the Type 82 Kübelwagen (52,000 built).

The amphibious Type 166 Schwimmwagen (about 14,000 built).

Mass production of civilian VW cars did not start until post-war occupation.

The factory produced another wartime vehicle: the Kommandeurwagen; a Beetle body mounted on a 4WD Kübelwagen chassis. The Kommandeurwagen had widened fenders to accommodate all-terrain tires.

669 Kommandeurwagens were produced up to 1945.

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche

After World War II, the car was officially designated the Volkswagen Type 1, but was known as the Beetle. During the post-war period, the Beetle had superior performance in its category with a top speed of 115 km/h (71 mph) and 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 27.5 seconds with fuel consumption of 6.7 l/100 km (36 mpg) for the standard 25 kW (34 hp) engine. In 1949 the car was exported to the US. On 17 February 1972, when Beetle No. 15,007,034 was produced, Beetle production surpassed the previous record holder, the Ford Model T.

By 1973, total production was over 16 million, and by June 1992, over 21 million had been produced.

The final original VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) was produced at Puebla, Mexico, 65 years after its original launch.

Production in Brazil ended in 1986, then started again in 1993 and continued until 1996. The last Beetle was produced in Puebla, Mexico, in July 2003. The final batch of 3,000 Beetles were sold as 2004 models and badged as the Última Edición.

VW 1303/Super Beetle (1973)