Volkswagen cuts ties with dealer over Nazi-era images

September 09, 2020

German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) on Tuesday won praise from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy organization, “for having reacted quickly in memory of the victims of Nazi barbarism.”

Earlier this week, VW severed ties with a Mexican distributor after an image emerged on display at an affiliated dealership in Mexico of an early VW Beetle alongside Nazi soldiers, seemingly used for promotional purposes.

“We strongly disapprove of [the distributor] showing those images at its facilities, which shows a regime that emphasized hatred and discrimination at a point in history that has fortunately been left behind,” VW said in a statement.

A visitor to the facility shared pictures of the image on social media, triggering calls for VW to distance itself from the dealer.

Read more: Hitler and ‘his Volkswagen’: Tracing the 80-year history of the Beetle

Before VW’s announcement of its decision to cut ties, the Simon Wiesenthal Center called on the German automobile maker to “drop the concession completely in order to pass a clear message to your customers that you have learned from your history.”

The Beetle was conceived by Ferdinand Porsche under the patronage of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as “the people’s car.” Volkswagen was first formed by the German Labor Front, a labor organization of the Nazi party, as a “people’s car company” run by the state.

The designs for the Beetle, one of the five top-selling four-wheeled vehicles of all time, were offered to an array of Allied carmakers after the war, all of which turned them down. A British military officer, Ivan Hirst, ultimately secured the fate of the car, which would continue to be built in Wolfsburg. He had been put in charge of winding the factory down, but came across the blueprints and instead convinced military superiors to order tens of thousands of units for occupying troops as affordable and easily built transportation.

VW has received praise for actively confronting its Nazi past.

Read more: The family calls the shots at VW

VW Beetle through the years

VW to end production of the Beetle

The last of Volkswagen’s iconic Beetle compact cars rolled off assembly lines in July 2019. While there were two special models manufactured before production ceases, it’s the original “Bug” that still generates the most emotion among its fans. DW looks at how views of the “people’s car” have changed over the decades.

VW Beetle through the years

Hitler wants a ‘People Car’

In the 1930s, Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler tapped Ferdinand Porsche (L) to design a “Volkswagen,” or “people’s car” — an affordable, mass-market vehicle that could carry a family and luggage. He came up with a two-door, rear-engine vehicle that could cruise at top speeds of 100 km/h (62 m/hr). Initial production of the car remained small.

VW Beetle through the years

The Beetle booms

Sales of the car, officially named the Type 1, picked up after the British, one of Germany’s post-WWII occupying powers, relaunched Volkswagen factory production. In 1955, the millionth car rolled off the assembly line. It was only then that the rounded car earned its nickname “the Beetle.” The moniker was then carried over into numerous languages as sales of the car spread around the globe.

VW Beetle through the years

From film to driveways

It took a while for the Beetle to become popular in the US, however, in part due to the car’s Nazi roots. But a 1960s marketing rebrand and the car’s starring role in the 1968 movie “The Love Bug” as Herbie (above), a Beetle with a mind of its own, sealed its place in the hearts of Americans — and in their garages.

VW Beetle through the years

The Beetle is back

Beetle sales in the US plummeted in the 1970s and production there ceased in 1979. By that time, the car was being produced around the world, including in Mexico and Latin America. In the 1990s, VW decided to give the car another go in the US. They revamped the design and released the New Beetle (above) in 1998, complete with a built-in flower vase.

VW Beetle through the years

Saying ‘adios’ to the original

As the New Beetle took off in the US, global production of the original Type 1 Beetle came to an end. By July 30, 2003, when the last of its kind came off the production belt in Puebla, Mexico, over 21,500,000 had been produced. The final car (above) received a ceremonial sendoff complete with mariachi band. Dubbed “El Rey” (“the king”), the car was sent to VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.

VW Beetle through the years

Political statement

Despite no longer being made, the original Beetle remained popular and recognizable, often linked to 1960s nostalgia. However, it also made a political statement. While holding the post of Uruguay’s president from 2010-2015, Jose Mujica continued to use his 1987 Beetle to get around (above). The old car, part of his personal abstention from luxury, cemented his reputation as a humble politician.

VW Beetle through the years

A place in drivers’ hearts

The VW entered its third generation in 2012, with the production of a new model in the US. But just six years later VW said it would cease making the car in 2019, instead focusing on electric and family vehicles. VW’s CEO left the door open to revive the much beloved Beetle in the future. Until then, however, the iconic car will continue to hold a place in the hearts of old and young alike.