Rumors have us worried that Volkswagen will discontinue the Beetle, but a new report gives us at least some hope for the future of the iconic model. According to Autocar, Volkswagen is considering an electric-powered successor to the current Beetle.
Herbert Diess, chairman of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, says the automaker has not made a final decision on the Beetle’s successor. However, he hinted that any successor would be electric.
“If we wanted to do a Beetle, electrically it would be much better than today’s model, much closer to history, because it could be rear-wheel drive,” Diess said.
An electric Beetle successor is just one of the many possibilities VW is considering as it plans its lineup of new EVs. VW is looking to leverage the value of past models as it goes through this process, apparently.
“The next decision on electric cars will be what kind of emotional concepts we need,” said Diess, explaining these “emotional concepts” include the Microbus, Beetle, Kübelwagen, and Buggy.
New EVs will sit on the skateboard-like MEB platform that can accommodate rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive. Volkswagen has already previewed three of its future electric cars: a hatch, a crossover, and a remake of the Microbus.
Whether the Beetle lives on for another generation remains to be seen, although the flexible MEB platform would be a good candidate for the new version. Earlier this year, Volkswagen only added fuel to the Beetle rumors. VW brand board member Arno Antlitz told Autocar, “The Beetle and Scirocco are representatives of an emotional and appealing class of vehicles, but it [VW product planning] is not always about continuing cars from one generation to the next.” Other rumors say VW may discard only the hardtop Beetle, since the convertible still sells well in Europe.
Source: Autocar
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