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New Beetle being phased out... 80,000 Sold..

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68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#778927
I read that VW is phasing out the New Beetle shortly...

80,000 have been built....

which is low volume for Volkswagen...


they are looking at introducing a new new beetle maybe next year...

LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

vwjon Fahrvergnugen

914 posts · joined Jul 2006 ·

#778941
your figures are incorrect, 1.1million have been made in mexico alone, i heard somewhere more than 21million had been made worldwide they produced more new beetles in 10 years than old beetles in 40+ years!
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Sides Veteran Volks Folk

2,220 posts · joined May 2007 ·

#778944
Definitely more than 80,000 New Beetle's produced, but nowhere near as many New Beetle's made as they made aircooled Beetles.

Some production numbers on TheSamba... and yes it's not guaranteed 100%, but it lines up with other factory quoted figures that I've seen in the past.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/info/beetle_productionfigures.php
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Yogie Moderator Custom Title Time!

1,608 posts · joined Jun 2003 ·

#778953
It is more like 800,000 and they are not stopping it, just introducing an updated model based on Golf 6 mechanicals instead of Golf 4.

Yogie

amazeer Bishop of Volkswagenism

3,029 posts · joined Nov 2005 ·

#778965
hope they make the one new look a bit different from the front to the back. Its hard to tell if they are coming or going.

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#779088
It's not 80,000, it's not 800,000. The 1,000,000th New Beetle was produced in 2007, shortly before the 10th Anniversary edition was announced, so as Jon says they would be up to around 1.1 million by now.

That roughly compares with the original Beetle, as the 1,000,000th example was made in 1955, about 10 years after proper production began. However the original Beetle went on and on, production increasing every year right up to the maximum of 1.3 million PER YEAR in 1971. In total, there were 21,529,464 original Beetles (including Superbugs) made from 1945 to 2003 when production finally ended in Mexico.

In fact Jon, more original Beetles were made in ONE YEAR (1971) than the total number of New Beetles made in 12 years so far. Not surprising, as the New Beetle was never more than a niche model made on a Golf platform. It was a success in the US market, but a failure in the rest of the world.

I think the figure Lee means is that around 8,000 have been sold in Australia in ten years - it debuted here in January 2000. It averages around 600 per year, when VW now sells around 12,000 Golfs a year here.

Schmoburger Baywindow Mafia Godfather and Cement-Shoe Fitter

2,185 posts · joined Oct 2005 ·

#779687
I wish they'd put the engine back in the right place at least!
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Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#779701
I remember writing just those sentiments in the club magazine over 12 years ago, when it was still called the Concept One!

Unfortunately it won't ever have a rear engine. There's no way that VW would spend money developing a unique rear-engine platform for a model that has struggled to sell 100,000 units a year - and is only made in Mexico. And even if they did, VW doesn't make flat flour engines any more - it would still be a transverse in-line four Golf engine. It's far more efficient to just bung a Beetle-ish looking body on a Golf platform. That's why they're killing off the current New Beetle - it's based on the old Mk4 Golf, which was superceded eight years ago. The 'Mk2' New Beetle will be based on the current Golf Mk6.

The original Concept One was based on a Polo platform and was considerably smaller than the eventual production model - thank goodness they took a bit of time to develop it further.

I originally despised the New Beetle, but I've changed my mind over the last four or five years. Now I think it's a useful niche model. It acts as a 'bridge' between the old air-cooled era, and VW's modern range. Americans don't 'get' modern VWs so it's perfect for them. I reckon there's plenty of aussieveedubbers here too who hate Golfs and would never buy one - but would buy a New Beetle. That's where it's useful.

amazeer Bishop of Volkswagenism

3,029 posts · joined Nov 2005 ·

#779715
Phil74Camper wrote:I remember writing just those sentiments in the club magazine over 12 years ago, when it was still called the Concept One!

Unfortunately it won't ever have a rear engine. There's no way that VW would spend money developing a unique rear-engine platform for a model that has struggled to sell 100,000 units a year - and is only made in Mexico. And even if they did, VW doesn't make flat flour engines any more - it would still be a transverse in-line four Golf engine. It's far more efficient to just bung a Beetle-ish looking body on a Golf platform. That's why they're killing off the current New Beetle - it's based on the old Mk4 Golf, which was superceded eight years ago. The 'Mk2' New Beetle will be based on the current Golf Mk6.

The original Concept One was based on a Polo platform and was considerably smaller than the eventual production model - thank goodness they took a bit of time to develop it further.

I originally despised the New Beetle, but I've changed my mind over the last four or five years. Now I think it's a useful niche model. It acts as a 'bridge' between the old air-cooled era, and VW's modern range. Americans don't 'get' modern VWs so it's perfect for them. I reckon there's plenty of aussieveedubbers here too who hate Golfs and would never buy one - but would buy a New Beetle. That's where it's useful.
I'm the opposite. Despite being a hardcore aircooled lover, I'd take a golf any day of the week as my daily driver. GTI TDI, either way. The 2005 Falcon is a POS and the 97 Lancer is starting to get a bit old. Maybe a TDI weekend wagon and a GTI commuter. Like you I did take offence at the New Beetle when it first came out and hated it with a passion, but I'm over it now. I wont own one though, unless someone gives me a baby blue cabrio with roof permanently down. Its the only one I can see myself in.

Cant see it ever going rear engined, you'd have to loose the rear seat, and I imagine the front engine is an internal alloy bullbar forming 90% of the crash safety measures.

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7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 ·

#779730
i just acquired an 07 T5 lwb..
thank fook the engine is outta da back so its easier to carry all important crap about..
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