Volkswagen Beetle to die in 2019 after all

Volkswagen CEO, Herbert Diess, has confirmed he has no plans to revive the iconic Volkswagen Beetle nameplate when production ends later this year.

Last year, it was widely reported that the Volkswagen Beetle was set to live on following comments from Diess himself when he publicly announced that he was keen to introduce more "emotional" cars to VW's line-up like the I.D. Buzz microbus.

Further fuelling rumours of a Volkswagen Beetle comeback, Volkswagen's design boss Klaus Bischoff told the media that the car-maker's MEB platform would be a 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 declared in interviews.

Confirming design proposals had already been made for a MEB-underpinned Beetle, Bischoff estimated it would be two or three years before the Beetle would be back but those plans have now been scrapped following a new interview with VW's boss.

Admitting that despite an MEB-based Beetle was perfectly feasible, Diess told Motor Trend that a battery-powered Bug wasn't in his plans for the car-maker.

"No. You have to do something emotional, but I think we can't cover the historic line-up of Volkswagen with electric cars, and we shouldn't."

Instead, the Volkswagen CEO said it will be up to vehicles like the I.D. Buggy, revealed at the Geneva show, to fill the void left by nostalgia-seekers.

Volkswagen has already confirmed the last Beetle Final Edition SE models will roll off the Mexican production line later this year.

The last Beetle sold in Australia was back in 2016 when Volkswagen Australia introduced its Beetle Classic Final Edition -- a limited run of just 53 individually numbered cars that marked Volkswagen's Arrival Down Under with the original Beetle in 1953.