The Volkswagen Beetle began its inexorable decline 50 years ago

At the end of 1975, the Volkswagen Beetle held a paradoxical place in the global automotive landscape.

As an absolute icon of the post-war era and the most produced car in history up to that date, the Beetle was nonetheless entering a phase of irreversible decline, caught up by the rapid evolution of market expectations.

Launched long before World War II and truly popularized in the 1950s and 1960s, the Beetle – officially Volkswagen Type 1 – had made its mark thanks to a simple recipe: robust mechanics, low maintenance costs, and a design intended to last. This global success peaked on February 17, 1972, when Volkswagen announced it had produced more than 15 million units, dethroning the Ford Model T.

But by the mid-1970s, the context was changing. Safety and emissions standards were tightening, consumers were demanding more space, comfort, and modernity, and competition was intensifying. Volkswagen itself was preparing for the post-Beetle era with a new generation of front-wheel drive models, foremost among them the Golf, launched in 1974.

An Automotive Legend

The production figures for 1975 illustrate this historical turning point. While the Beetle was still exceeding a million units annually at the beginning of the decade, only 441,116 units rolled off the production lines worldwide that year. A still significant volume, but in sharp decline, confirming that the model was no longer at the heart of the German manufacturer’s strategy.

In Europe, production was gradually coming to an end. Germany, the historic cradle of the model, was stepping back, while manufacturing was shifting to markets where demand remained strong, particularly in Latin America. Mexico and Brazil then became the new strongholds of the Beetle, extending its career well beyond what many had imagined.

In 1975, the Beetle was no longer the car of the future, but it remained a powerful symbol: that of a universal, accessible, and sustainable automobile. Fifty years later, its legacy remains intact, reminding us that no model – no matter how iconic – escapes the cycles of industrial history.

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