Watch: Auf Wiedersehen, Beetle. The last ‘Bug’ has rolled off Volkswagen’s production lines
A pop culture favourite for eight decades, the car was originally commissioned by Adolf Hitler.
After eight decades, Volkswagen’s Beetle reaches the end of the road. @GavinoGaray reports https://t.co/nrXPt2Xwdr pic.twitter.com/xUlEMlo91P
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 11, 2019
Over 80 years after it was first introduced, the last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off production lines in Mexico’s Puebla on June 10.
Commissioned in 1938 by Adolf Hitler as an affordable vehicle, the iconic Beetle has served a long and varied path through automobile history.
Despite sleeker models surfacing over time, the funky design of the Bug (upgraded twice) has inspired generations and several movies – including the Herbie series – and remained a success story over decades. Volkswagen’s car was also a best-selling import in the United States in the 1960s.
R.I.P. 🚘
— AJ+ (@ajplus) July 10, 2019
The last factory still making the iconic Volkswagen Beetle — in Puebla, Mexico — ceases production on them today. pic.twitter.com/HLeppL7Ps7
The Puebla factory, which already produces VW’s Tiguan SUV, will make the Tarek SUV in place of the Beetle starting in late 2020, reported Reuters. In a move symbolic of the company’s embrace of the future, the last Beetles will be sold online.
Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, then the engineering chief at VW, the first-generation Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 survived a 58-year production run, with the final car rolling off the line in 2003.
According to the Auto Express, the brand has seen over 21 million units sold worldwide over its three generations of existence since the 1930s.
#UPDATE The last 65 models of the "Beetle Final Edition" will be sold in Mexico on the internet for a base price of $21,000, and can be reserved with a $1,000 paymenthttps://t.co/ZN3O0SNNp4 pic.twitter.com/jrGmwTcxPh
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 10, 2019
In 1998, the German automaker released the second-generation New Beetle in Europe, which continued production till 2010. This was replaced by the third, and final, generation Beetle in 2011.
VW rolled the last Beetle off the assembly line, more than 80 years after the model was introduced in Germany. Read more: https://t.co/3HWMqQkOf5 pic.twitter.com/OHHTYmUQOj
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 12, 2019
The little car that came to symbolise the post-war baby boomer generation also made advertising history, with several TV commercials and its legendary print “Think Small.” ad changing the way agencies thought about static advertising.
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Twitter users were quick to share their memories of their favourite bug. Auf Wiedersehen.
A parking lot full of Volkswagen Beetles watching 'Herbie the Lovebug at a drive-in theater, 1968. pic.twitter.com/EevWkqie2Z
— Life in Moments (@historyinmoment) July 10, 2019
"The Beetles" Agencia: Bates Reklamebrya, Oslo, Noruega... pic.twitter.com/hUOVRLeaoE
— Keko Iglesias (@kekoarteixo) July 12, 2019
In honor of @VW halting production of the #beetle, here I am on my way to senior prom next to my custom painted #bug (which I still own)💕 pic.twitter.com/hXg78QNU6U
— Amy Lynn Nelson (@amynelsonmt) July 10, 2019
Dear #VW #Beetle, thank you for magically appearing wherever I travel. It's like seeing an old friend when you're far from home.
— Maaza Mengiste (@MaazaMengiste) July 2, 2019
(Travels with #BeetleEthiopia) pic.twitter.com/i8sAVQVTLC
The Production Of The Volkswagen Beetle Ends Today
— tellmystory Ng (@tellmystory_ng) July 10, 2019
This news isn’t much of a surprise because last year, Volkswagen announced its intent to end production of the car in 2019.
Beetle was designed in 1925 by a 18 year old Hungarian student, Bela Barenyi.#Volkswagen #volkswagon pic.twitter.com/klQ4vDHmLr