2012 VW Beetle confirmed

The next generation Volkswagen Beetle – due in 2012 – will offer more variants from the Eco to the Halo in an effort to emulate the success of MINI and the Fiat 500.

To be fair, it’s not as if Volkswagen ever intended dropping the Beetle from its range. But VW’s US boss – Stefan Jacoby – has been commenting on the next generation Beetle which will probably be revealed in 2011 before going on sale in 2012.

So what did Stefan Jacoby have to say? What we already knew, really. The next generation Beetle will have more rear leg room than the existing Beetle (as it’s based on the new VW Golf). And it will become more of a ‘Halo’ car for the brand than the current model.

And it makes sense that these utterings come from the head of VW in the US, because the US is probably the only place the Beetle has been a big success. In Europe – and the UK – it is considered a bit of a ‘Girly’ car and is also perceived as something of a marketing gimic – old clothes, new gubbins. But US buyers seem to like it – to the tune of over 50k a year. A sales number VW is not going to surrender easily. And with nearly 12 years of Beetle sales out of VW’s plant in Mexico it means US buyers have probably taken close on 70% of production.

But since the new Beetle came to market a dozen or so years ago there have been some remarkable ‘Retro’ successes – probably the biggest being the MINI and the Fiat 500. And VW want to emulate that with the next generation Beetle. Push it upmarket but throw in some Eco models at the bottom, perhaps based on the Up! underpinnings. Beetle Speedster, anyone? Electric Beetle? Beetle SUV? Beetle Hybrid? All are strong possibilities when the new Beetle – based on the current generation Golf – starts to surface in earnest late in 2010.

And if VW can emulate what BMW has done with the MINI and Fiat with the 500 – and I wouldn’t bet against it – the next Beetle could prove a big seller even in cynical European and UK markets.