In January 1949, the first VW Beetle arrived in the United States, paving the way for more than 5.5 million units that have been sold in the country spread over three model generations.
The first Beetle shipped to the U.S. was a “Type 1” model brought by Ben Pon Sr., a Dutch businessman and the world’s first official Volkswagen importer. The first car and a second one found buyers the same year, marking another important milestone for VW – the first time that the brand’s vehicles were sold in the United States.
Americans warmed up quickly to the Beetle: by the mid-1950s, more than 35,000 Beetle models were on the road, and by 1960, the figure remarkably rose to nearly 300,000. Like everywhere else in the world where the Beetle was sold, buyers were not only attracted by the affordability and practicality of the Beetle, but also by its unique design, size and fuel economy.
By 1968, VW was selling as many as 423,008 Beetles a year in the U.S. In 1977, the carmaker stopped production of the “Type 1” Beetle at its main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 21 years later, VW introduced the New Beetle, whose styling paid tribute to the original Beetle. However, from a technical point of view, the New Beetle had a water-cooled engine mounted at the front rather than an air-cooled unit mounted at the rear.
In 2011, VW introduced to the U.S. the third-generation Beetle, which builds on the retro-styled, modern technology theme of the New Beetle.
In the 65 years since the first Beetle was sold in the U.S., VW has grown to sell 11 different models through 644 dealers. In 2013, the German carmaker sold 407,704 vehicles in the United States, more than 43,000 of which were Beetles.
By Dan Mihalascu
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