Farewell VW Beetle — and RIP small cars in general
The problem, car executives say, is that the high cost of electrification is difficult to combine with the economics of smaller, cheaper cars
14 July 2019 - 07:00
Car launches are 10-a-penny so it’s very rare that a particular model’s demise captures the world’s attention. The Volkswagen (VW) Beetle, the last of which rolled off the production line in Mexico this week, was no ordinary vehicle though.
The downfall of the “People’s Car”, an icon of post-war German prosperity as well as the 1960s counterculture, is all the more painful because of what’s replacing it. Bloomberg News reported this week that the Mexican plant is now gearing up to build — wait for it — a compact SUV...
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