Last VW Bug Off Assembly Line in Mexico 2003

In March 2003 the end of the Vocho production was announced, due to the gradual and continuous decline in demand for this model, which began with the introduction of the Chevy Pop (Opel Corsa B) in Mexico produced by General Motors in 1997. The Chevy Pop replaced the Volkswagen Beetle in its first place on sales in Mexico by offering modernity at a price just a little higher than the Vocho. However, the Volkswagen Beetle kept being the Mexican taxi driver favorite, until, in 2002, a decree emerged under the mandate of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, then Mexico City’s governor. This decree prohibited the granting of permits for public transportation in the form of taxis in Mexico City to two-door cars, restricting even more the marketing of the Vocho in favor of the Nissan Tsuru (third generation Nissan Sentra), which now became the new favorite of taxi drivers in Mexico, so that sales of the Vocho fell even further. These sales figures reached over 40,000 units sold annually in the mid-90s, dropping to just over 10,000 in its last year. Taxis were also not permitted to be any older than eight years, although the Vocho ended up being grandfathered in for an extra two years. This means that there will be no more Beetle taxis in Mexico City after the end of 2012. From 100,000 a few years earlier, only 3,500 VW Sedán taxis were left in early 2012.[5] It was in the month of June 2003 that the Volkswagen Sedán Última Edición was introduced.[6] A totally nostalgic car, which resembles the past glories of the Volkswagen Beetle. This Final Edition consisted of 2,999 units for sale to the general public in Volkswagen dealers across Mexico, while one (the last one to be produced), would be immediately shipped to the Volkswagen Museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, testifying a historic age which ended on July 30, 2003, when the last Volkswagen Beetle (the unit number 21’529,464) leaves the production line in what was now called “the hall of sorrow“, accompanied by a Mariachi singing the song “Las Golondrinas“ (A Mexican folk song that speaks of a farewell). This latter Beetle was headed to the port of Veracruz where a ship would take it to his final destination. The rest of the units, in spite of costing MXP $84,000 (a “Unified“ Volkswagen Beetle cost MXP $69,000), moved very quickly from dealerships, leaving many people with the desire to own one of these copies unsatisfied. At this time, Volkswagen presented some advertising with a nostalgic tone.[7] In some of them, they showed a small space to park, and many cars that tried unsuccessfully to occupy it, after what appeared to get a sedan, then showed a sentence saying: “Es increíble que un auto tan pequeño deje un vacío tan grande. Adiós Sedán.“ (“It was incredible that such a small a car leaves such a large emptiness. Goodbye Beetle“). One of the curious events that occurred was the fact that a group of owners of dealerships, in Mexico, came together to buy one of these cars, which was sent to the Vatican City as a present for Pope John Paul II. S329