Kombis were not fitted with automatics until the Type 4 (pancake twin-carb engine) was introduced in 1973. The 1600 Kombis were always manual-only. The Kombi auto is the same as the Type 3 (Sedan, Squareback, Fastback) - a fully automatic 3-speed gearbox.
The Beetle never came with a fully automatic gearbox. The closest they had was a 'semi-automatic' - a modified manual gearbox with the normal 1st gear removed, a torque converter added and an electric switch under the gearstick. There was no clutch pedal, but you still shifted gears. You could leave it in top and it would accelerate, but verrrrry slowly. Porsche had a similar system called the Sportomatic, and NSU also used it on their Wankel Ro-80.
The semi-auto was an option on Australian 1500 VW Beetles from 1968. From 1971 it was an option on the 1600 Superbug, but not the basic 1300 Beetle. It was discontinued at the end of 1975 with the Superbug, and the last 1976 Beetle was manual only. It was more expensive than the manual, so no there were not many sold at the time.
It's a good system when everythng works correctly, but of course now it's 40 years and more later and things wear out. It would be a major project to convert a manual Beetle to semi-auto as there are many extra/different parts, and one even a specialist Volkswagen workshop would baulk at. Not impossible, but extremely difficult if you are new to VWs. Don't even attempt it unless you have the Bentley manual (the most comprehensive) and have read it.
http://www.bentleypublishers.com/volkswagen/repair-information/vw-type-1-1970-1979-repair-manual.html
