BERLIN: Volkswagen chief executive Thomas Schäfer has ruled out bringing back the Beetle name for a future electric car for as long as he is in charge, the top executive told the British car magazine Autocar.
When asked if the most famous badge in the company’s history could be revived, Schäfer said: “I don’t think so, because certain vehicles have had their day.”
“It wouldn’t make sense to bring it back. I wouldn’t say with 100% [certainty], but from where I stand now, I wouldn’t consider it,” Schäfer told Autocar in comments published last week.
The news comes amid a range upheaval at VW as all-electric models like the ID.3 seek to gradually replace the evergreen Golf as standard-bearer.
A former VW CEO’s decision to ditch the Golf name has been reversed but Schäfer said names like the Scirocco which was used for a sporty model for decades, were not due to return.
“Obviously, we have a lot of names in our history but there are only, I’d say, a little more than a handful that are really iconic and global”, said Schäfer.
The VW chief’s comments coincide with the unveiling of virtual Beetle EV for an animated film which prompted speculation that a real, zero-emission production version might be on the way.
The car was designed for a superhero called Ladybug who stars in the upcoming children’s film “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie,” due to shown for the first time on Netflix at the end of July.
The shape of that car harks back to VW’s heritage just like the current ID Buzz resembles the first camper bus but Schäfer said reviving old names for nostalgia reasons “would be a dead end”.
A name could only be brought back if the reincarnation adheres closely to the original, said Schäfer. It needed to have the genes of the vehicle that went before.
VW has already been down the revival road with the “New Beetle” produced from October 1997 until July 2010.
It drew much inspiration from the first Beetle but had a front engine, driving the front wheels, with luggage storage in the rear. The broadly similar “Beetle” was built at a factory in Puebla, Mexico until July 2019.
The rear-engined, air-cooled original VW Beetle was first produced in response to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s call for “a people’s car”. It was built in many versions from 1938–2003 during which time more than 21 million units of the car were turned out.
Keyword: VW boss rules out reviving Beetle name for the electric era