VW Could Pull The Plug On Beetle And Scirocco

Remember when a new VW Scirocco was supposed to arrive this year, and the Beetle was allegedly on track for electrification? Pepperidge farm remembers.

Now, both cars are in threat of not being replaced, and for two reasons: poor sales, and the cheating emissions scandal that forced the German automotive giant to reduce costs, Autocar reports.

“The Beetle and Scirocco are representatives of an emotional and appealing class of vehicles, but it [VW product planning] is not always about continuing cars from one generation to the next“, said the brand’s board member, Arno Antlitz, at the automaker’s 2017 Annual Session, which brought forward the subject of replacing some of the current vehicles.

As for the ’emotional void’ that Antlitz was talking about, this should be filled by the upcoming ID electric vehicles, and the new Arteon luxury compact saloon, which serves as the more upscale successor of the CC.

Volkswagen sold just 5,774 units of the Beetle across the European continent in the first quarter of the year, and 25,127 in 2016, whereas the Scirocco accounted for 2,054 deliveries in the first three months of 2017, and 10,752 last year. Sales of both cars were exceeded by the Golf in January alone.

With an official decision left hanging in the air, consumers looking for a practical, hatchback-style coupe might find comfort in the fact that Mercedes-Benz is considering a Shooting Brake version of their next generation A-Class, which was supposed to rival the likes of the Scirocco.