Volkswagen Beetle to be reincarnated as pure-electric car

Volkswagen executives are secretly plotting to reinvent the VW Beetle as a re-bodied version of the forthcoming 2019 I.D. hatch.

Set to feature the familiar Beetle silhouette, the reborn people's car would be based on the same Volkswagen Group MEB electric vehicle platform as the new range of VW I.D. models and come with a rear-mounted electric motor.

Recently Volkswagen confirmed that the current Beetle, which shares much with the Golf hatch, will not be replaced when production comes to an end next year. Some markets including Australia have already dropped the famous nameplate from the model ranges.

Championing the cause for a Beetle replacement, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess has publicly announced that he is keen to introduce more "emotional" cars to Volkswagen's line-up, alongside the regular offerings.

That's why the I.D. Buzz microbus was green-lit internally and is now scheduled to arrive in 2022.

Before then, Volkswagen will launch its core I.D. models including the I.D.hatchback, I.D. SUV and I.D. sedan, followed later on by a larger-still I.D. SUV.

Internally, it's believed Volkswagen Group will monitor the sales success of the core I.D. models before it begins launching niche models like the Beetle but, according to design boss Klaus Bischoff, the MEB platform could be the perfect match for a reincarnated Beetle.

"IF you look at MEB, the shortest wheelbase [possible] is the I.D. [hatchback]. If you took that and did the Beetle on it, you have plenty of room so there's no compromise in functionality any more. So it could be a very attractive car," the German car-maker's chief designer told Brit mag, Autocar.

Confirming design proposals had already been made for a MEB-underpinned Beetle, Bischoff admitted that he estimated it would be two or three years before the Beetle could be approved for production.

Part of the charm of a pure-electric Beetle based on the Volkswagen Group's MEB platform is that instead of a rebodied front-wheel drive Golf, the pure-electric Bug would rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, mimicking the original's layout.

Once launched around 2021, the Beetle EV would go head-to-head with pure-electric versions of both the MINI and the Fiat 500.