Retro-inspired models were popular at the turn of the century, but VW’s boss believes nostalgia is a dead end
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Volkswagen might have created an electric Beetle for Netflix’s Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, but fans shouldn’t expect to see a revival of the people’s car.
Quite the opposite as Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Thomas Schäfer recently said, “It wouldn’t make sense to bring it back” as nostalgia is a “dead end.” The executive added “there are certain vehicles that have had their day” and this implies the Beetle will be relegated to the history books.
Schäfer told Autocar the Beetle could eventually return in the future, but “from where I stand now, I wouldn’t consider it.” He added it’s the same with the Scirocco as the company needs to “invest money in the best possible place.”
More: VW Made A New Electric Beetle Concept For Netflix’s Latest Animated Film
While we shouldn’t expect to see a new Beetle or Scirocco, Schäfer reiterated the company won’t be killing off names entirely. As he explained, “We’ve decided we’re not going to throw away the traditional, successful names that have carried us for so long, that we’ve invested in for so long, like Golf and Tiguan.” He added the company is still finalizing their new naming scheme, but we shouldn’t expect to see the Arteon moniker make a return.
Getting back to the Beetle, there have been countless rumors about an electric revival over the years. These have died down as of late, but former Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess seemed open to the idea and noted “many other emotional cars [besides the ID. Buzz] are possible on our scalable MEB platform.”
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While Volkswagen doesn’t seem interested in building an electric Beetle, that didn’t stop Ora from making one of their own. Known as the Ballet Cat, the model cribs heavily from the Beetle playbook but features two extra doors.
