Volkswagen is one of the biggest car companies in the world, but they often say and do things that don’t make sense or seem out of the ordinary. This is especially true in the U.S.—I’m looking at you, Arteon—and the company’s CEO has said that an electric Beetle won’t happen, even though electrification lets it change a lot of its lineup. In an interview with Autocar, the company’s CEO, Thomas Schafer, said that “traditional and successful” models like the Golf and Tiguan would be made electric. Still, the business must look to the future. Only the retro-styled I.D. Buzz was different, which he called a “dead end.” Schafer told the newspaper, “I couldn’t say for sure, but as of right now, I wouldn’t even think about it.” It was like the Scirocco in that it had its time and was replaced by a new model based on a new way of looking at things. To reiterate? I don’t think so. As you compare the prices of these tools, you should put your money where it will give you the best return. He said that the Golf was a suitable replacement for the Beetle. That might make sense if V.W. hadn’t been selling the Golf and two new Beetles together for over 20 years. The honest answer has to do with the current state of electrification, the trend toward bigger cars, and, yes, disagreement within V.W. Even though the ID.4 SUV is the first electric vehicle from the brand to be sold in the U.S., reviews have been mixed. In other words, the car could be better in real life, even though it has excellent specs on paper. We also know that it took a lot of work to make the ID.2, which is the German brand’s smallest E.V. After the company decided that there was little interest in a possible ID.2, it now looks like it’s mostly an electric Golf. It even said the brand was hurt by its latest move to make rooms without buttons. So, even if the company wants to make an electric Beetle, it may need more money. It would have a small range and a less-than-stellar cabin if made today. Also, it wouldn’t do well in a country like the United States, which has a lot of SUVs. In other words, V.W. would be making a car that wouldn’t look all that great when it was finished and wouldn’t look all that good on paper, either. Also, short-wheelbase electric vehicles with suitable ranges are not possible right now, no matter what V.W. can do. Due to the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries, automakers using “skateboard” systems must choose between a long, thin battery pack and a shorter, wider one. Most choose the first one; even when they do, the cars often need to be in a better place. The new Chevy Equinox E.V. 19-inch wheels, like those on the current gas-powered Chevy Blazer, hide the actual length of the base car. But because batteries and power electronics are improving, it will be hard to rule out an electric Beetle in the long run. It would be wild for the company not to make and market a Beetle-like car in the U.S. when an electric vehicle with a small battery can quickly go 300 miles. We are still determining when V.W. will be able to use that technology in particular. If it wants solid-state batteries, its joint venture partner, QuantumScape, probably needs to catch up to its rivals. But other automakers, like BMW, are already building early production lines in Germany with the help of Solid Power, which is one of their partners. The company has already sent prototype cells to OEMs. Toyota is also trying SSB-powered cars, which are more stable and can make more kilowatt-hours for the same weight and size because they need less cooling and have more energy packed into a smaller space. If the new Beetle needs SSBs, we’ll have to wait a little longer.
