Volkswagen ends production of iconic Beetle

Volkswagen will end the production of its Beetle car model after producing the final car in Puebla, Mexico, on Wednesday, according to NPR.

While the car was first manufactured in Germany in 1938, it was relaunched after World War II to distance it from the Nazi regime, eventually becoming heavily associated with hippie culture in the 1960s.

{mosads}The automaker previously revamped the iconic car in both 1998 and 2012, but sales fell off amid the proliferation of SUVs.

“Cult is not necessarily synonymous with sales. … The Beetle has not been able to attain the global success of the new ‘Volkswagen,’ the Golf,” the company said in a statement.

The company has not produced Beetles in Germany since the 1970s and has exclusively produced later editions at the Puebla facility, according to NPR.

The factory, once it ends production of the Beetle, will instead focus on producing a compact SUV, while Volkswagen plans to launch a new, electric version of the VW bus in 2022, according to NPR.

“It’s impossible to imagine where Volkswagen would be without the Beetle,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, according to NPR. “While its time has come, the role it has played in the evolution of our brand will be forever cherished.”

Last year, Volkswagen Group of America’s then-president and CEO Hinrick Woebcken said reviving the car model remained within the realm of possibility.

“[T]here are no immediate plans to replace it,” Woebcken said, but added “I would also say, ‘Never say never.’ “