New Volkswagen Beetle to cease production in 2018, says report

It is the imminent end of an era as rumours are swirling around the internet that Volkswagen will stop production of the new Beetle come 2018. The source of this rumour is a tweet from Autoline that claims that Volkswagen will be dropping the Beetle from its lineup at the end of 2018 to make room for more crossovers. The accompanying video cites a report from Autoforecast Solutions asserting that the Tiguan would take up the production space at the company's Mexican factory.

This should come as little surprise for industry watchers since crossover utility vehicles and others of its ilk are outselling traditional cars at an astonishing rate, and that trend isn't weakening. Every automaker with sales growth plans is eyeing the SUV/CUV market right now, and VW seems to be no different.

That said, there are certain quarters doubting the veracity of this news. Volkswagen isn’t exactly missing in action from the CUV marke - the redesigned Tiguan is now a true midsizer, and the Touareg handles mid-luxury SUV duties for the brand. It is doubtful that VW needs to cancel the Beetle to open up production capacity.

There are also other contradictory reports about the Beetle’s demise. A couple of years ago, a rumour from Germany claimed that Volkswagen was considering squashing its bug because killing it would save money. Soon after, Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser quashed the statement, telling the press that a third-generation model was in development, and the next Beetle would ride on the MQB platform.

But if this as-yet unsubstantiated report turns out to be true, it would mark the end of an era for one of the modern world’s greatest icons. First introduced in 1998, the Beetle was an affordable halo model for the then-quirky brand. It rode a wave of retro-modern designs like the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Ford Thunderbird, and the VW was among the best looking of those vehicles. A second generation arrived for the 2012 model year, dropping the ‘New’ from its product name.

Volkswagen has declined to comment on the media speculation.