Iconic VW Beetle to return as the electric-generation’s “people’s car”

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 16.07.2018

Volkswagen’s new range of I.D. Electric cars could see the Beetle live on

Volkswagen is investing heavily in its burgeoning I.D. branded range of electric cars, with various concepts having appeared at motor shows around the world, and an electric small-car set to appear as early as 2019 in the form of the I.D. hatch.

In order to create the people’s car of the future, VW has reportedly green-lit the iconic Beetle silhouette to sit atop the same I.D’s MEB architecture.

The current-gen Beetle was dropped from Australian showrooms in 2016, and world-wide production is set to shut down at the end of next year – previously with no replacement in sight.

However, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess has vocalised his desires to introduce more "emotional" offerings to VW’s next-generation lineup.

Alongside the Beetle, the I.D. Buzz – the spiritual successor to the Kombi – has finally been pened for a 2022 release.

Before that however, the product roadmap is set to see the core lineup gradually consist of the I.D. Hatch, SUV and I.D. Sedan.

Speaking to British magazine AutoCar, VW Design Boss Klaus Bischoff spoke of the MEB platform’s shortest wheelbase application, the I.D. Hatch: "If you took that and did the Beetle on it, you have plenty of room so there’s no compromise in functionality any more. So it could be a very attractive car".

While the current-generation Beetle is heavily underpinned by the front-engined Golf, the MEB electric architecture would allow for a spiritually-correct rear-engined electric Beetle.

Reportedly already in the design phase, Bischoff asserted that it could still be a few years before the next-generation electric Beetle is approved for production, as the core I.D. models are initially introduced over the next five years.

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