Photo: Volkswagen
With a flatter look, the availability of a more powerful turbo version and the obvious lack of a flower holder on the air vents, the Volkswagen Beetle for the 21st century isn’t as feminine as its predecessor. We’d never muster up the courage to call it a coupe, as it’s more of a lifestyle vehicle trapped in a retro body.
A very interesting Bloomberg report has looked at things from a business point of view. VW’s sales in the US might seem like they are on the rise, but they are nowhere near the Japanese, so by 2018 their goal is to double these figures. And one little task of this goal is to not alienate any buyers. To this end, they have to stop making girly cars, because as one analyst puts it, “Girls don’t mind driving masculine cars; I don’t think it works the other way around.”
Looking at the numbers, 43 percent of the buyers are men, much higher than the 29 percent for the old Beetle. What’s more, in December, it was an even 50/50 split between the genders.
“One of the goals, obviously, was to potentially attract a more-balanced buyer group,” Tim Mahoney, VW’s chief product and marketing officer in the US.
Manly Man still won’t drive a Beetle, not until the R arrives, but now the car is more... let’s say politically correct in the way it expresses its driver preferences.
Looking at the numbers, 43 percent of the buyers are men, much higher than the 29 percent for the old Beetle. What’s more, in December, it was an even 50/50 split between the genders.
“One of the goals, obviously, was to potentially attract a more-balanced buyer group,” Tim Mahoney, VW’s chief product and marketing officer in the US.
Manly Man still won’t drive a Beetle, not until the R arrives, but now the car is more... let’s say politically correct in the way it expresses its driver preferences.
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