Mothballed for the third time on the finish of 2019, the Volkswagen Beetle is useless for good. Obscure rumors claimed that the nameplate would return on an electrical four-door mannequin with a retro-inspired design, however the firm’s prime govt confirmed that it isn’t coming again.
“I do not suppose so, as a result of there are specific automobiles which have had their day. It would not make sense to convey [the Beetle] again,” firm CEO Thomas Schäfer instructed Autocar. “I would not say with 100% [certainty]. However, from the place I stand proper now, I would not think about it.”
Because it stands, the ID. Buzz is about to stay the one torchbearer of Volkswagen’s visible heritage within the 2020s lineup. It is on sale in Europe, the place it is supplied in passenger- and cargo-carrying configurations, and a long-wheelbase mannequin is due out in america for 2025.
Schäfer prompt that, broadly talking, dusting off historic nameplates is not a part of Volkswagen’s product plan. “It is the identical as Scirocco: it had its day, then there was a brand new mannequin primarily based on a reinterpretation. To do this once more? I do not suppose so. And going ahead with balancing all of those applied sciences and the price that’s related to it, you have to make investments cash in the very best place.”
Bringing again a nameplate and bringing again a automotive aren’t the identical issues. Ford as soon as once more sells a Puma in Europe, nevertheless it shares nothing greater than a reputation with its predecessor; it is a crossover, whereas the unique Puma bought from 1997 to 2002 took the type of a small, front-wheel-drive coupe designed by Ian Callum. Volkswagen will not construct, say, a Scirocco-badged crossover simply to convey the identify again.
“There are examples within the auto trade in the mean time the place somebody has taken a traditional identify after which put it on a automotive that is in no way what it’s … however I am not mentioning names,” he mentioned. Opel’s born-again Manta, which is due out in 2025 as a crossover, is one other instance.
Though the Beetle and the Scirocco aren’t coming again, a number of the different in style nameplates within the model’s portfolio are sticking round.
“We have determined we’re not going to throw away the standard, profitable names which have carried us for thus lengthy, that we have invested in for thus lengthy, like Golf and Tiguan. Why would you allow them to go?” Schäfer concluded. Volkswagen has beforehand confirmed that the ninth-generation Golf will swap to an electrical drivetrain, which means the present, eighth-generation mannequin is the final model powered by a piston engine.
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