Volkswagen aims for lofty Beetle sales

The attractive new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is expected to sell as many as 50,000 to 60,000 units a year in the United States. The car launches this fall.

That level will be a big improvement over the latter years of the outgoing model, in which sales dwindled to just 15,000 a year, but it remains lower than the record figure of 83,000 achieved 18 months after the launch of the revised model.

“We think we can recapture plenty of sales with the new model,” says Mark Barnes, boss of VW North America.

VW is in the midst of a major expansion in the United States and is opening a new factory to build the Passat locally. The Beetle will help boost VW's image, just as it did in 1998 when the New Beetle first launched.

A wider range of three engines--a 2.5-liter five-cylinder, a 2.0-liter TDi and a 2.0T--will help spread the appeal.

VW has dropped the cutesy dashboard-mounted vase but added in two nice interior-design features--a body-colored dashboard and an upward-hinging glovebox door, the latter a clever nod to the original.

A soft-top will arrive soon after launch in summer 2012, a much smaller delay than that suffered by the outgoing cabrio.

By Julian Rendell