Mexico – When the worldwide production of the Volkswagen Beetle came to an end as the last car rolled off the assembly line in Cuautlancingo, Puebla last month, it was announced that 65 of the last 565 models would be sold exclusively in Mexico through the e-commerce platform Amazon.
Last week, Amazon delivered the first of the 65 “Final Edition” Volkswagen Beetles to Joaquin Jasso, a 44-year-old construction worker who lives in Mexico State. Jasso’s new car arrived on the back of an Amazon truck inside a custom-made box.
Jasso, an avid Volkswagen collector who owns approximately 40 vehicles made by the German automaker, told news website Expansion that ordering the car online was “very simple, it took me barely three minutes to buy.”
The Beetle was first conceived of in the 1930s as a “car for everyone,” at the behest of Adolf Hitler and with a design team led by Ferdinand Porsche. However, it did not enter widespread production until after World War II.
Its popularity over the ensuing decades made it the most recognized car model in the world. And though the Beetle hasn’t been produced in Germany since the 1970s, production of the original Beetle continued at the Puebla facility until 2003. Later editions of the iconic car, including the “New Beetle” that was released in 1997, were exclusively produced in Puebla.
The factory in Puebla manufactured some 1.7 million “New Beetles” between the vehicle’s redesign in 1997 and 2019. The very last Beetle ever made was brought to the Volkswagen Museum in Puebla.
Joaquin, who has been collecting VW vehicles for 18 years, said he was extremely happy with his latest purchase. “Adding a new Volkswagen to my collection is always a really cool feeling, and the way I bought this car makes it even better,” he said.
The final edition Beetle sells on Amazon.mx for just over 410,000 Pesos ($21,000 USD).
In the 1930s, Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler tapped Ferdinand Porsche (L) to design a “Volkswagen,” or “people’s car” — an affordable, mass-market vehicle that could carry a family and luggage. He came up with a two-door, rear-engine vehicle that could cruise at top speeds of 100 km/h (62 m/hr). Initial production of the car remained small.
Source: dw.com
