July 15, 2011 in Nation/World

VW’s newest Beetle starts production in Mexico

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MEXICO CITY — Call it the (new) Beetle.

The world’s first models of the redesigned Volkswagen sedan began rolling off production lines at the company’s plant in central Mexico on Friday, with a bigger trunk but also a bit of linguistic baggage.

Company spokesman Israel Victoria says the firm prefers to call it simply “The Beetle,” because “otherwise, it would be ‘the new, new Beetle’ or ‘the newest Beetle.’”

It is not to be confused with the New Beetle, a redesign of the original 1930s stalwart launched in 1997. VW’s plant in Puebla state produced 1.15 million units of the bulbous, rounded New Beetle between 1997 and 2010.

The latest version, the design of which was unveiled in April, has a flatter roof, a less bulbous shape, narrowed windows and a crease along the side — and no flower vase near the steering wheel.

The company said Friday it hopes to be producing 100,000 Beetles annually at the Puebla plant by next year, with about 90 percent destined for export. The new model is expected to be in dealers’ showrooms this fall.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon beamed as he climbed into the driver’s seat of a bright red Beetle — the first car to come off the line — but even he seemed to refer to it by the old name.

“It is a point of pride for Mexico to know that the new Beetle will be fully produced in our country,” Calderon said.

He also took the opportunity to praise the car’s ancestor, which is now sort of known as the old Beetle, or as Calderon called it, the “much loved Volkswagen ‘Vocho’.”

That is a Mexican word roughly equivalent to the American nickname the “Bug” that was applied to the original design, a car known formally in dealerships in Mexico as “The Sedan.”

While the new sedan harkens back a bit more to the original design — widely loved in Mexico because of its low cost and ease of repair — Andreas Hinrichs, president of the board of VW’s Mexico subsidiary, said the latest Beetle isn’t an everyman’s car.

“Our current Beetle is not a people’s car in this sense, but rather an automobile for a style of life,” Hinrichs said.

The Mexican government said the company spent about $400 million to re-tool the plant for the new version of the sedan, and production of the car will keep about 2,000 jobs at the plant.

Calderon expressed hope that Mexico would become one of the world leaders in car production, noting that the export output of all the country’s assembly plants rose by more than 50 percent in 2010, to almost 2 million vehicles.

“The Beetle is a strong symbol of our brand. It combines the emotional heritage of the original Beetle with the future of Volkswagen,” said Hubert Waltl, VW board member for production and logistics of the Volkswagen passenger cars brand.

Puebla state Gov. Rafael Moreno Valle waxed poetic about the car, even though he used the old (new) name.

“The new Beetle will become a contribution of Puebla, and Mexico, to the world,” the governor said at a ceremony launching production.

The standard version of the latest Beetle has an upgraded 170-horsepower, 2.5-liter gasoline engine, and VW will offer the option of a sportier, 200-horsepower, turbocharged engine.

© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Four comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  lowtechmaster on July 15 at 4:15 p.m.

  Guess the USA is a bad place for foreign auto companies to build cars. Of course, the USA companies depend on concerns in other countries to build “American” cars! Aren’t you glad they were “bailed out?”

• 

  greyhound2 on July 15 at 5:00 p.m.

  So is the new VW a German car or a Mexican car? Is Volvo a Swedish car or a Chinese car? Is Hummer an American car or a Chinese car? Is Chrysler an American car or an Italian car?

• 

  greenlibertarian on July 15 at 5:41 p.m.

  Jeeze, you literally have the answers to your ignorant question right at your fingertips.

  Just about two months ago, VW completed building a brand new, state of the art vehicle assembly plant in Tennessee:

  Wolfsburg / Chattanooga, May 24, 2011 – Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood have today inaugurated the new Volkswagen Group plant in the United States in the presence of prominent representatives from politics, business and the media. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, over 2,000 employees are to produce up to 150,000 vehicles per year. The plant sets new standards in terms of sustainable, resource-efficient production.

  At the inauguration ceremony, which was also attended by Dr. Klaus Scharioth, German Ambassador to the United States, Bill Haslam, Governor of the U.S. State of Tennessee, Jonathan Browning, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, as well as U.S. senators Robert Corker and Lamar Alexander, Prof. Winterkorn stated: “The Volkswagen Group has finally arrived as a local manufacturer in the United States. We are proud to be part of this great automobile nation as a producer, an employer and as a friend and good neighbor to people in the region.”

  Since construction started in 2009, an automobile plant including body shop, paint shop, assembly facility, technical testing center, academy for the initial and advanced training of employees, and a supplier park with eight companies has been built on a 1,400 acre site in Chattanooga. The design production capacity of the plant is 150,000 vehicles per year. The manufacturing depth for the Passat produced here will be of the order of 85 percent. 1,700 people are already employed directly by Volkswagen in Chattanooga. 10,000 additional jobs will be created in the U.S. component supply industry.

  Volkswagen is investing about one billion US dollars in the development of the facility at Chattanooga, which will be among the world’s most advanced and environmentally compatible automobile plants. The new plant is in line with the highest requirements of the U.S. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard, which lays down stringent provisions for the sustainable, environmentally compatible construction of buildings.(continues)

  
  http://media.vw.com/press_releases/inaugurate-chattanooga-plant
  Try paying attention.

• 

  Ninch on July 15 at 10:29 p.m.

  The U.S. has at least 11 “foreign” car manufacturers. Additionally, GM has “foreign” manufacturing plants in China. The goal is to manufacture (and employ) in nations where the car buyers are located… ergo lots of regional focus.

  If Mexico improves its economy with enterprises like The Beetle exports, then the U.S. benefits. We (U.S., Canada, Mexico) are all North Americans with U.S sharing both north and south “political” borders. Good to look at the big picture of people and non-people resources.