Both the Beetle and Jetta are axed from the product lineup due to insufficient sales and may not get respective replacements anytime soon
The Beetle can be credited with establishing an unfazed legacy for the German car manufacturer in the automotive history. However, there is always a time when you need to say “goodbye”. Volkswagen’s Indian arm has confirmed that both the iconic Beetle and the Jetta sedan are discontinued in the domestic market owing to poor sales.
While the Jetta has been removed from the official website, the Beetle has been out of the frame for sometime now. They are axed from production not just due to the uninspiring sales numbers but there are various other reasons involved. For instance, the latest generations of both the models retailed in India were based on the old PQ35 architecture which is no more globally.
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The Beetle, launched in late 2015, was powered by a 1.4-litre TSI petrol motor good enough to produce a maximum power output of 150 PS. It was mated to a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox. Although VW has revealed an evolutionary Jetta for global markets with a world debut in Detroit last month, chances of it entering India are sparse.
All hope is not lost though as Volkswagen is well-aware of the Beetle brand name and could bring it back eventually with an all-electric powertrain globally. It is speculatively mulling the plan to introduce the Beetle EV with a Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) layout and it could be introduced as part of the ambitious strategy to launch 50 electric models by 2025.
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It is no secret that since the emission cheating scandal, VW has been forced to shift its operational strategy to zero-emission vehicles and shelving the Beetle is an obvious consequence of that. The future Beetle is likely to be a sister model of the Microbus EV that was previewed through the I.D. Buzz concept. The electric Beetle is expected to be based on the upcoming MEB architecture developed specifically with EVs in mind.