Beetle “Final Edition” Coming in 2019 According to VIN Decoder

2019 will mark the introduction of the Beetle “Final Edition” according to VIN deciphering information submitted by Volkswagen to NHTSA.

The name is the same one used in 2010 to mark the end of the New Beetle. The Final Edition marked the end of the first generation water cooled Beetle, that was followed by the current model.

With no obvious plans for a follow-up, and rumors swirling about the disappearance of the Beetle, it seems unlikely that VW will be following the Final Edition up with a new Beetle.

When it came out in 2010, the New Beetle Final Edition was offered only in Aquarius Blue (or Aquarius Blue and Campanella White two-tone for the convertible) and was limited to only 1,500 units (3,000 counting both convertibles and hardtops). That Final Edition debuted at the LA Auto Show, which seems like a pretty good time to introduce this one, too.

Sales of the Beetle have been weak for some time, with deliveries in 2017 totalling just 15,000. For context, the Jetta sold 12,000 units in August of that year alone. As of August of 2018, Beetle sales are down another 2.2%.

With Volkswagen getting its retro kicks from the I.D. Buzz these days, it seems that VW isn’t too interested in keeping the Beetle name going.

Frank Welsch, VW’s R&D boss, told Autocar last year that “two or three generations is enough now” for the Beetle. Adding that VW made it “with history in mind but you can’t do it five times and have a new, new, new Beetle.”

Reports of a hybrid Beetle gauge cluster this summer, buoyed hopes that the Beetle might continue on, but 2019 now seems to well and truly be it for the Beetle.

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