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Agence France-Presse

German car giant Volkswagen launched the final edition of its iconic Beetle sedan from its Mexican factory on Wednesday at a ceremony accompanied by a mariachi band.
The bug-shaped vehicle rolled off the production line to rapturous applause, the last iteration of a model first manufactured in the late 1930s in Germany and 1954 in Puebla, central Mexico.
“The loss of the Beetle after three generations and almost seven decades should provoke a wide variety of emotions,” said Steffen Reiche, the CEO of Volkswagen Mexico.
The limited, 65-unit run of the “Beetle Final Edition” will be sold in Mexico on the internet for a base price of US$21,000 per vehicle, and can be reserved with a US$1,000 payment.

Each car includes a commemorative plaque on its left side, numbered from one to 65.
It will be available in metallic blue, black, white and beige.
Dozens of factory workers had turned up from early morning to put the final touches on the car, which was unveiled after seven hours of work.
The employees wore bright yellow tops bearing the words “Thanks Beetle”, as the unveiling proceeded in a festive atmosphere tinged with nostalgia for a car that has generated a loyal following like almost no other.
Road rage Chinese style: man rams his Beetle into SUV seven times
“Who couldn’t want a car like this, made with Mexican hands?” said Roberto Benitez, a 40-year-old production technician.
“It’s always sad, you feel like part of one. That’s the daily work, full shifts to get the best results, it makes me proud,” added Francisco Bueno, a 25-year-old employee.
The production of the final Beetle model was announced last September by Volkswagen, still trying to turn the page after the costly 2015 “dieselgate” scandal in which it paid out huge government settlements after rigging 11 million cars to cheat regulatory emissions tests.

The vehicle’s history goes back to the Nazi era, having first been developed by Ferdinand Porsche with support from Adolf Hitler, who in 1937 formed the state-run Volkswagenwerk, or “The People’s Car Company”.
After the war, the Allied countries made Volkswagen a priority in an effort to revive the German car industry.
The advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach in 1959 rechristened the car the “Beetle” and began touting its small size as an advantage to consumers, according to the History Channel.
Hong Kong car enthusiast says his classic VW Beetle is like an old friend
The car attained further popularity with the 1968 Disney movie The Love Bug, the story of a racing Volkswagen with a mind of its own.
Andy Warhol did prints featuring the car while a Beetle featured prominently on the cover of Abbey Road, the final studio album by the Beatles.
The current “New Beetle” model, first launched in 1997, is a far cry from the original that ceased production in 2003, but it retains the distinctive bug-shape and large headlights that appear like eyes on a smiling face.

Robust, easy to maintain and high-performance, it reached its apogee in the 1960s and 1970s before its popularity waned and Volkswagen ceased European production in 1978.
Eventually its high fuel usage, weak brakes and poor handling led to it being overtaken by the competition, not least VW’s own “Golf” model.


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Automotive industry

Last ever Volkswagen Beetle rolls off Mexican production line

A Volkswagen Beetle is displayed during a ceremony marking the end of production of the vehicle at the company's assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

epa07708840 Volkswagen Mexico General Director Steffen Reiche speaks about the Beetle during the farewell of the car model at the Puebla factory, Mexico, 10 July 2019. Volkswagen factory in Mexico celebrated the last production of the Beetle car. EPA-EFE/Hilda Rios

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 01, 2015 Uruguay's former President Jose Mujica drives his Volkswagen "Beetle" near his house, after leavig the Uruguayan Presidency. - The final VW 'Beetle' model rolled off a Mexican production line on July 10, 2019 in Puebla. (Photo by PABLO BIELLI / AFP)

FILE - In this May 26, 1938 file photo, German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler speaks at a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for the Volkswagen car factory in Fallersleben, Lower Saxony, Germany. Volkswagen is halting production of the last version of its Beetle model in July 2019 at its plant in Puebla, Mexico, the end of the road for a vehicle that has symbolized many things over a history spanning eight decades since 1938. (AP Photo, File)

A mariachi band plays during the farewell event for the Volkswagen Beetle at the company’s factory in Puebla on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Volkswagen’s new chief is betting carmaker’s future on his major push into China’s market, as trouble looms on the home turf

Workers on the production line of Volkswagen’s Tayron cars at the FAW-Volkswagen Tianjin plant in Tianjin on December 12, 2018. Photo: Reuters

epa06805117 (FILE) - CEO of Volkswagen AG Herbert Diess speaks during the Volkswagen AG annual general meeting (AGM) in Berlin, Germany, 03 May 2018 (reissued 13 June 2018). Automaker Volkswagen says it's being fined 1 billion euros by German authorities over diesel affair. EPA-EFE/CLEMENS BILAN

Til death do us part: Hong Kong car enthusiast says his classic VW Beetle is like an old friend

Andrew Ng with his 1972 VW Beetle. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Motoring

Road rage Chinese style: man rams his Beetle into SUV seven times in row over parking space

A man was detained for ramming his car into another vehicle seven times following a row over a parking space in the northwestern China city of Qingyang. Photo: News.163.com

--ATNX4 CRASH15-- A man has been detained for purposely crashing into an off-road vehicle seven times with his wife’s Beetle after the two vehicles had a collision in downtown Qingyang, Gansu province. Photo: news.163.com

News

World

Americas

Europe

Iconic bug-shaped car was first manufactured in late 1930s in Germany, and has drawn a loyal following worldwide
Limited 65-unit run of the ‘Beetle Final Edition’ will be sold online in Mexico for base price of US$21,000


Iconic bug-shaped car was first manufactured in late 1930s in Germany, and has drawn a loyal following worldwide.


Volkswagen

Mexico

Germany

Last ever Volkswagen Beetle rolls off Mexican production line

Iconic bug-shaped car was first manufactured in late 1930s in Germany, and has drawn a loyal following worldwide Limited 65-unit run of the ‘Beetle Final Edition’ will be sold online in Mexico for base price of US$21,000

Iconic bug-shaped car was first manufactured in late 1930s in Germany, and has drawn a loyal following worldwide

Limited 65-unit run of the ‘Beetle Final Edition’ will be sold online in Mexico for base price of US$21,000