Volkswagen became a famous global brand by building the cheap and lovable Beetle. There have been some reasonable sequels in the form of the Golf and Polo, but even those eventually became more upmarket and expensive than the Beetle ever was. The brand has never stopped trying to replace its budget world car, especially for more price-conscious markets, and now it seems like VW might have the right pieces in place.
I’m going to make today’s Morning Dump, if not hopeful, at least not so dominated by the same news that’s overwhelming everything else if you have any form of social media or television in your life. The dream of a cheap people’s car is the dream of many at Volkswagen, even if attempts to replace the Beetle haven’t always worked. Maybe this time will be different.


In America, we’ve abandoned the sedan right at the time some people are looking to buy them. That’s the argument being made at least. Building cars in general is hard, which is why money-losing Ineos is going to have to recall just about every SUV it sold in America.
Hey, would you look at that — more European nations are on board with relaxing carbon rules, but this time building and trucking-related ones. This is part of a general trend in the EU to balance competitiveness, inflation, and decarbonization.
Manhindra + Volkswagen = A True Cheap EV?

When the Volkswagen Beetle was first built, what are called “Complete Knock-Down” kits, or CKDs, were sent to factories all over the world. The Beetle was cheap and easy to produce, but it was even cheaper and easier if most of the parts could be shipped, Ikea-like, to small factories in places like Taiwan, Brazil, and India.
Most car production doesn’t work like this anymore, and India’s car market is now way more advanced and features its own mix of domestic companies like Tata and Mahindra. The most popular Indian cars come from Maruti Suzuki, which is the Indian offshoot of the Japanese automaker. If you’re in India, you can get a Maruti Suzuki Fronx, which is a little crossover-type car, for about $15,000 out the door.
The closest thing to a new Beetle (not a new New Beetle) is probably the BYD Seagull, which is an inexpensive but reasonably well-featured electric car that costs under $10,000. The main issue is that it’s built by a Chinese company and therefore isn’t exactly welcome everywhere.
Could Volkswagen compete? So far the company’s electric offerings haven’t been met with much enthusiasm. The same is true for the company’s attempts to build a cheap car for India, which most recently brought us the dinky Polo-based Ameo, which flopped and was discontinued. And, yet, it sounds like Volkswagen is trying again.
From Manager Magazin, which picked up this interesting tidbit from VW’s big annual press conference this week (translated):
All the more surprising was the reaction of CFO Arno Antlitz (54) when a journalist asked him shortly before the end of the annual press conference on Tuesday in Wolfsburg about plans outside of the core markets, for example in India: Antlitz, with practiced politeness, let his CEO Oliver Blume (56) speak; then he rattled off: “India,” that was “a very good keyword. We have been in India for a long time, and very successfully too.” But, Antlitz got to the point, “not so much in terms of volume.” So, he continued to muse, “you have to be very cost-competitive, you have to have a good cost base, you have to be localized”; and “we will only achieve that with a partner.”
The conversation continued, and Antlitz was unstoppable: “We are in very good discussions; it’s still too early to communicate anything.” But: “We don’t want to abandon the Indian market; quite the opposite.” He could also have said: Volkswagen is still very much alive in India.
The financier talked about a project that is indeed already quite advanced: Volkswagen is once again attempting to create a budget car. A car, in this case electric, for the masses. So affordable that it could even be a success in a country like India—and one that can even make money.
An affordable, competitive, money-making electric car is exactly the vehicle everyone hopes Volkswagen will build. It’s also exactly the kind of car Volkswagen has struggled to build up to this point. So why is there hope?
Two reasons. The first, and most obvious one, is that Volkswagen is likely going to partner with a local company to make production and distribution easier. In particular, Mahindra seems like a good potential match.
The second reason requires a bit more of a leap of faith. The executive behind the project appears to be Škoda CEO Klaus Zellmer. Škoda, as a brand, has found success in other markets. The brand offers great cars on Volkswagen platforms that are cheaper without usually feeling cheap. It’s also one of the few Volkswagen brands that actually grew last year. Recently, Škoda launched the locally developed Kylaq crossover in India at a cost of around $11,000. At least so far, orders for the vehicle are strong.
Could Zellmer figure out a way to make this work? I just want to point out the confidence required to post a photo like the one at the top here, which shows Škoda execs and board members walking towards the camera like they’re in some kind of really weird, business casual-oriented Marvel movie. That’s the kinda move you can only pull when you’re really feeling yourself.
Is The Death Of The Sedan A Detroit Big Three Own-Goal?
I like writer David Zipper, even if I don’t always agree with him. His provocative argument this week in Fast Company goes something like this:
- Because of President Trump’s economic policies, Americans could be in for a recession or, at the very least, more expensive car prices.
- Automakers, especially in Detroit, pursued bigger and heavier cars and this “car bloat” led them to cut all of their cheaper models.
- If the economy falters, American automakers more than anyone will take a hit.
Here’s the key bit:
Even if Trump ultimately dumps his tariff proposals—a huge “if”—growing fears of a recession, which Trump has refused to rule out, reveal the vulnerability of Detroit’s bloated lineups. Some budget-conscious car buyers may save money by delaying their purchase, choosing fewer features, or selecting a smaller model within the same vehicle class. (This may already be happening: The comparatively modest Toyota RAV4 recently dethroned the Ford F-150 pickup as the top-selling vehicle in the U.S.) The other likely scenario: They could switch from an SUV or pickup to a comparatively cheap sedan.
I think the general premise, which is that more expensive cars will be less popular in bad times, is probably true. Mitsubishi has done well making cheaper cars, for instance. On the other hand, Nissan offers more sedans than maybe anyone, and that brand has suffered in the United States. The above example, too, of the RAV4 dethroning the F-150 isn’t a great one as the RAV4 also is not a sedan.
I’d like to see more sedans because I like sedans, but a sedan isn’t necessarily a better or safer vehicle. The Chevy Trax is an affordable crossover and, with a curb weight of around 3,100 pounds, it weighs less than the last Chevy Malibu and roughly around what the smaller Chevy Cruze weighed. Ford, too, has the Bronco Sport, although it’s not quite as affordable. I also think Ford’s Skunkworks project is kind of exactly like what Zipper is asking for in this piece.
If there’s one automaker in Detroit who could do better it’s Stellantis. We need a cheap Jeep again.
Ineos Recalls 7,000 SUVs Because Of Doors That Might Randomly Open

David really liked the Ineos Grenadier when he drove it, and I don’t remember anything about the door randomly flying open. Apparently, that was a risk.
From Bloomberg via Automotive News:
Ineos Automotive is recalling more than 7,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada after customers reported that doors on their SUVs flew open while driving.
Ineos will replace door-button mechanisms on all Grenadier sport utility vehicles made before April 19 last year, according to reports filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Transport Canada posted a similar notice on its website, which says there are 452 affected vehicles in that country.
The parts were assembled without enough grease being applied, the company said, leading external buttons on some vehicles to stick and cause doors to open mid-journey. Ineos will pay for the full cost of the repairs.
Building cars is hard.
More EU Countries Wanna Slow-Roll Decarbonization Just A Bit
I wrote last year that the EU was going to have to decide if it wanted to rapidly decarbonize or if it wanted to protect its homegrown industries, and it seems, at least a little bit, that Europe is willing to take a slower approach. Most recently this involved the EU’s leaders suggesting spreading the carbon goals over three years for automakers, instead of just one.
According to Bloomberg, Estonia’s Premier is already asking for some transportation-related programs to be adjusted:
The Estonian leader’s comments highlight the multiple challenges facing the EU to stay on track in the push to make the bloc’s economy greener, while also boosting spending on defense and delivering on a pledge to cut persistently high energy prices that have badly hurt economies like Germany.
The new program, known as Emissions Trading System 2, is due to begin in 2027 as a key tool to help the EU reduce greenhouse gases by at least 55% by the end of the decade, compared with 1990 levels.
The plan has already come under criticism from Poland, which wants to delay it to 2030 amid concerns that carbon costs will further inflate energy prices. Politicians in Slovakia and the Czech Republic have also urged a delay.
ETS 2, as it is called, is basically a cap-and-trade system that covers buildings, road transport, fuels, and other industries that aren’t already covered under other programs.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
While we’re talking about pop music here, I’m going to go back in time to one of the weirder pop songs of all time. It’s REM’s “Shiny Happy People” from 1991, featuring the amazing Kate Pierson from The B-52s. Allegedly, Michael Stipe wasn’t a fan of contemporary pop music and kinda took it as a dare to make a bubble gum pop song. “Shiny Happy People” might also be a reference to propaganda posters in China’s Tiananmen Square.
The Big Question
What’s the closest thing we’ve gotten to a Beetle after the original? Is it even possible to build an EV Beetle?
Top photo: Skoda
I’ve seen B-52s live and Kate can pull off that amazing voice live too, she’s got some of the best pipes in the business. Her Candy with Iggy Pop is pure ear Candy.
Nissan Leaf. Cheap, not powerful, reliable, dirt simple as far as BEVs are concerned.
Video killed the radio star, so who knows?
I do know that your bottle of champagne at fart-a-lotto will cost 200% more!
I hated that song, Until I heard the live version they did not that long ago… I’m not sure if the live version just has something the radio version didn’t or if I have changed in my old age 🙂
Detroit killed their sedans, but it’s only because they didn’t have the global reach for their sedan lines like foreign brands did (and after years of poor and/or neglected product). And Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Honda have dropped some cheap small cars too for profitability reasons. The Trax demonstrates that it’s not that people always prefer sedans, it’s just that the cheapest vehicles happen to be sedans.
Saying people will go from a normally $40-50k plus vehicle, to something half the price, is a big leap. Will people buy fewer pickups and buy more cheaper vehicles? Sure. Will it be the same buyer? Not necessarily. I’d bet the buyer stepping “down” from a big pickup that suddenly got more expensive, might try a US-made Traverse or Explorer first if they’re trying to stay in the same brand – after all it would still be thousands less than the pickup. But Ford also has the US-built Escape starting at $30k. Tariffs on South Korean-made vehicles would affect Trax & Trailblazer…but also most of H/K’s smaller vehicles, I think only the Elantra has US assembly right now. The K4 is made in Mexico, as are Nissan’s cheaper offerings, so those jump in price because of it. “Comparatively cheaper” carries a lot of weight in the article, because a low trim K4 or Sentra for $30k isn’t going to suddenly sound appealing just because it’s comparatively cheaper. I’d expect people to just hang on to what they have as long as they can, which is the better option. If/when the tariffs get dropped they will turn right around and try to get what they used to have anyway.
Hatchbacks and wagons may be a better solution than sedans. Same driving dynamics, arguably more practical.
I hate the idea of a sedan, but I’m currently trying to find a hatchback or a wagon that isn’t a Volvo or Subaru.
I think the 90s Dodge Neons were similar to the Beetle, dirt cheap, the base models had molded plastic bumpers, pleasant face with rounded headlights. Then you get the mods going and ACR racing with them. Front engine/FWD instead of rear/rwd but spatially similar, also as mentioned, dirt cheap, cheaply built, I think you could literally pop off the entire door card without screws, just had to pop the window crank off first.
If VW wants to actually sell some they could make it look like similar to like a 4 door version of the Beetle Dune, like the Ora Funky Cat lifted a little.
It’s possible but it can go two directions, heavier and bulkier but with RANGE or a practical city car with a reduced range conceptually like the original Bug.
Bring back the sedans and coupes. I am wholly sick of trucks, suvs and cuvs for which I have no use, need or desire. Atlanta music rules.
I’m not sure if it is entirely the cause but from where cars were in the 60s and 70s we have continually made sedans smaller while at the same time increasing the amount of stuff needed to carry. Car seats, pack and plays ect… Arguably the crew cab half ton pickup is much closer in form and purpose to most of the sedans from the 60s and 70s so I can’t really say it is surprising they are the top selling vehicles. A modern sedan is seen as being an impractical vehicle by most.
Agree on the crewcab half ton, especially when modern ones get the same if not better mileage than some popular crossover/SUVs. It blows my mind that people can get 20+ out of an F150 crewcab.
A modern half ton pick up truck is certainly the same length as a 60s or 70s sedan.
I think the closest we got to the original Beetle in modern times was the first year Ford Maverick pickup. Too bad greed ruined it.
What changed year over year?
Well Ford made the hybrid the base model and expected 2/3 of customers would plop down more money for the non-hybrid gas engine. Apparently it was exactly the opposite and 2/3 wanted the cheap hybrid so their loss leader just became a loss.
Personally, whoever did the statistics on that one should never be allowed to do forecasting again. If you want payload or towing there is the F-series family or the Ranger. The Maverick’s appeal wasn’t just that it was a truck to do truck things, but that it was affordable, fit in the garage, and offered good fuel economy with the hybrid. Being able to do some light truck stuff with it is just a bonus.
I would expect to appeal to a whole new market who never considered a truck before. The F series and the Maverick are entirely different markets for different wants/needs.
Yep. But it was worse than 2/3rds, it was 80%.
80% of orders were for the hybrid, which was considered the “standard” drivetrain by Ford on paper, however it only made up 20% of production. Same for the XL trim, 80% of orders, 20% of production. As time went on production increased for the hybrid but I don’t think it ever broke the 50% mark, and the wait was so long that a lot of orderers settled for the ICE drivetrain which reduced the demand to 60%.
The thing about Trucks and Pickups is people consider them to be more capable for the most part except for things like MPG, then Ford releases one that gets 42 MPG City and of course demand for it goes through the roof, people are getting something more capable than a Prius, Rav-4 Hybrid, etc. while getting just as good or nearly as good of MPG. What’s not to love?
I’m personally out of the market now, being a BEV convert, but for a while I was interested in the Maverick, and I may get the BEV variant when it comes out, but they better give it mechanical door handles for the love of all that is holy!
I currently drive a 2014 Sportwagen TDI. But, if I wasn’t a wagon/manual transmission guy, the Maverick would be perfect for someone like me. It’s small enough to sit in our slightly undersized two car garage, next to my air-cooled Beetle. It can carry anything I’d need for landscaping/gardening/home improvement projects. The hybrid offers excellent fuel efficiency, and it’s going to drive more like a crossover than a full size truck. Our house and yard aren’t even big enough to justify a full size truck for projects, honestly.
As it is, I use the Sportwagen as a truck, I’ve carried everything from bricks to bales of straw, lumber, bagged dirt, mulch, etc. in it. But a Maverick would do the job just as well, and it’s something people can go out and buy new. I agree, people likely aren’t replacing full size trucks with Mavericks, but they might be replacing their sedan or crossover with one.
The price and switching the hybrid from standard to optional.
Looks like a promo photo of the European version of “Severance.”
The closest thing to a Beetle? In a North America-based counter-cultural sense? The Toyota Prius in the early 2000s. In an era of cheap fuel with ‘patriotic’ Hummers, pickup trucks, and Ford Explorers plying the roads, the Prius was the opposite to mainstream culture of the W. Bush era. It looked like nothing from Detroit. Sipped fuel in an age of <$2/gallon gasoline. It was what a ’69 Beetle was to a ’69 Impala in that time.
From a longevity of production and obsolete in the modern-era view? Probably the Ford E-series / Chevrolet Express. Maybe the Panther platform of 15 years ago. Ancient stuff that works, but is exceedingly backwards compared to modern choices.
From a cheap “People’s Car” perspective? The Chevrolet Cavalier. Some of the cheapest vehicles sold off the dealer lots to the masses. Not particularly refined, nor exciting. Untold numbers of them put onto the roads as the first car of millions.
No one vehicle has ever replicated that feat. Which speaks to the fragmentation of the vehicle market since that era.
“Is The Death Of The Sedan A Detroit Big Three Own-Goal?”
Probably. I would also note that manufacturers have been lowering sedans. Old folks used to like sedans, but we have trouble getting into low vehicles. If I live long enough to buy another new car, it will probably have to be a SUV/CUV that is high enough for me to get into. Life is a bitch, and then you die.
What I’d like to see is the fines for not meeting emissions targets to be suspended for a much longer period of time. European auto makers should be allowed to invest in their own businesses rather than purchase carbon credits from their competitors like Tesla. As long as they can show progress, and are aware that they will start being fined again in a few years, that should be enough
I bet that this “VW Beetle” is a locally-produced and decontented version of the ID.1 they showed last week. Maruti slaps trunks on the back of Suzuki hatchbacks and sells millions, perhaps VW can do the same with a local manufacturing partner.
Suzuki Jimny has entered the chat.
Seriously, Jeep just needs to license the thing and get it up to spec at as dirt bottom a price point as possible.
I haven’t heard too much bad about the Jimny. It might steal customers from the real Jeeps. Are we sure it would follow in the tread marks of a Jeep Patriot?
While there might be some wrangler sales lost, I think the size difference would keep many people in Wranglers. I see the Jimny being able to bring in new Jeep clientele, and as their families and finances grow, they move up to the Wrangler Unlimited or the Gladiator.
While we didn’t get it for very long, I’d argue the Fiat 500. At least, while they sold it here. It looked quite a lot like the original 500, but unlike the Mini or VWs new Beetle efforts, you didn’t pay a price premium. I remember seeing those new for surprisingly low prices, which was fitting given the mission of the original. They were even fun to drive, in a slow car fast kind of way. Not a perfect example given it wasn’t sold for a particularly long time here, but of all the retro “people’s car” efforts, the 500 nailed it best IMO.
Car bloat will survive a recession just fine. Instead of buying Yukons, Expeditions and Grand Cherokees, cost-conscious consumers will just step down in size to Trailblazers, Bronco Sports and Compasses. You’re not getting SUV buyers back into sedans anytime soon.
Yep, especially when CUVs like the Kicks, Trax, Trailblazer, Taos, Corolla Cross, etc. offer a higher ride height for a relatively low price. Maybe they cost more than an entry level sedan, but they don’t cost a ton more and offer what people really seem to want.
Are we saying VW is incapable of building a Mitsubishi Mirage? Seems like not building a cheap ass no frills car is a choice.
Their fixed costs via their unions are very high, and with inspections being so strict in Germany their cars won’t pass inspection past the 120,000-160,000 KM mark they won’t pass inspection so eventually the German automakers stop building their cars to last past that, and if they do it’s with major preventative maintenance (replace the timing chain on a car whose design is not designed to facilitate the replacement of said timing chain). Most Mirages with a manual transmission can go 160,000KM with regular maintenance.
Japan seems to have the most functional unions as far as the auto industry is concerned, but even the Japanese automakers who build shit in the US have done as much as they can to keep the UAW out of their factories (for good reason too).
I doubt the Germans can get around the fixed costs of their unions, even if they tried to automate their jobs away they’ll get legally forced to stop automation efforts.
Germany’s anti foreign company bias and their union shitshow is a big reason why early on I said Tesla was being extremely stupid building a giga-factory in Germany, and I believe I’m still right about that.
No, ETS2 is a very popular truck driving game… Closest to a beetle? Probably my Neons
Toyota Corolla is the modern replacement of the Beetle. Each generation has been slowly upgraded but keeping the same reliability and low cost of maintenance.
Mr Brown. You stole my comment…
To a lesser extent, the Nissan Sentra for similar reasons, especially in China. CVTs aren’t an issue in other markets where engines are weaker and overall mileage is lower, plus many of them are manuals anyways.
By virtue of its long production run, countercultural advertising, old school ethos, unchanging sheet metal, unmistakable styling, and lower price than direct competitors, I propose the Dodge Challenger as the New New Beetle.
I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here, okay?
Michael Stipe made that video creepy because looks like an axe murderer when he smiles.
Of course, he also looks like an axe murderer when he doesn’t smile, so…
India’s Tata Nano is kinda close to the old Beetle, cheap rear engine RWD, also the Mitsubishi i and iMiev.
The Geo Metro could also be seen as a modern day Beetle
The closest thing to the original Beetle that we’ve seen in this country is maybe the Yugo. But, globally, there’s been many contenders – Lada Oka, BYD F0, the Tata Nano, etc
Of course, nothing that’s reached the ridiculous level of ubiquity that comes from a 65 year, 20 million unit production run
I would argue that the F-150 is really the US equivalent of the Beetle. For better or worse, it has become the people’s car. They’re literally everywhere, parts are cheap, they’re reliable, and pretty much every single garage can work on them no matter what year.
In ubiquity of the nameplate maybe, but the F-150 has always been substantially more expensive than anything that could be considered a “people’s car”. The Beetle started at the equivalent of $6,500 in Mexico in its final model year, a 2004 F-150 was more like $22,000
The Maruti Suzuki 800 was much more of an Indian Beetle than the Nano, as it was actually extremely successful while the Nano wasn’t.
What’s the closest thing we’ve gotten to a Beetle after the original? The original Mini, then the Golf
What about a Kia Soul? Cheap. Distinctive. Cutesy. Will get you places but not very fast.
Can confirm.
I don’t think those have had the global sales near the golfs, minis or beetles, nor the true global manufacturing
Yeah, it’s cheeky but I think the Soul is more “punch line” than “punch buggy” for a lot of people. Lime green hamster cars etc.
Not quite as Beetle-y, but I could make a case for the Ford Focus: distinctive design, practical, global assembly and sales. At least in gen 1, and the true 3rd gen could have continued it except the legacy of the PowerShift kinda kills it.
True. It never had the reach. And it probably won’t have the longevity (nothing does these days!).
My lead foot kid gets all kinds of places fast in a kia soul. Just push the skinny pedal down and take the speed limit signs as suggestions.
Interesting take. I had my 2013 for 11 years and loved it. I don’t know about it as the spiritual successor to the Beetle though.