Very interesting! Time will tell.
MEXICO CITY — He won’t say for sure, but Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn is dropping a lot of hints that the next-generation VW New Beetle will be built in Puebla, Mexico.
If so, it wouldn’t be a big surprise. VW has built a million New Beetles there since the model’s launch in January 1998.
” We’re currently working on the design of an attractive successor,” Winterkorn said at a ceremony in Puebla last week. ” And of one thing I’m certain: The next-generation New Beetle will continue to be successful.”
In a speech delivered in German, he added: ” Ladies and gentlemen, the New Beetle belongs inseparably to Volkswagen de Mexico. It is the first model produced exclusively here (Puebla) for world markets.”
Asked whether it was right to assume that Winterkorn’s remarks meant that the next-generation New Beetle would be assembled in Mexico, a VW source told Automotive News today: ” There is simply no decision about that.”
In his speech, Winterkorn also said VW’s proposed North American assembly plant would be built ” in the dollar region.” The same VW source said Mexico ” is in the dollar region,” and for that reason Volkswagen Mexico was still competing for the assembly plant.
At the same event, a celebration to mark the 7 millionth vehicle built in Puebla, Winterkorn told of a $1 billion investment in Puebla over the next three years. The VW source said the investment will be used to ” optimize” the Jetta production line.
Technorati Tags:New Beetle, Volkswagen
Well, an “attractive” successor is better than an unattractive one…