2020 will be an interesting decade for a number of reasons, with it starting with possible conflict with Iran, the Impeachment trial moving to the Senate, and many more monumental events. One of the lesser-known parts of 2020 is that this will be the first year, the first decade, since 1938 that there are no Volkswagen Beetles in production. The last beetle rolled off the assembly line back in July of last year, and this marks a major change within the automotive world. I suggest that before you read on, you should watch the commercial that Volkswagen USA published on New Year’s Eve.
For the past 82 years, the Volkswagen Beetle has been present throughout life, pop culture, and politics. It was originally designed to meet Hitler’s desire for a “people’s car.” They called it the Volkswagen, literally meaning “folks car.” After World War Two, Volkswagen, now a private company, continued production of the original Beetle until 2003. It showed up throughout the 20th century in some of the biggest films, including, but not limited to, Footloose, The Big Lebowski, and The Shining. It was a common sight throughout the 1960s, and, alongside the Volkswagen Bus, was one of the most famous and recognizable cars of the 1900s.
This is the first step in Volkswagen’s new plan to move towards a majority electric line-up in this next decade. They’ve also released their final model of the Golf and have unveiled a new model of their classic Bus.
The change in the line-up comes with rising concerns over carbon emissions and environmental worries. The Volkswagen family, which includes Audi, Bentley, Lamborgini, and many others, is expected to add 70 new electric models of former/new cars by 2025. With the end of an era, we should look not to the past in nostalgia but to the future for the innovation that we will be able to expect from car manufacturers like Volkswagen.
