What production years are listed for the original Volkswagen Beetle?

The original Volkswagen Beetle is listed as having been produced from 1938 to 2003. That 65-year span covers the Volkswagen Type 1, from its first prewar production examples through the final car built in Mexico.

The dates need a little context. Volkswagen produced the first units in 1938, but the Second World War interrupted the planned civilian rollout. Series manufacture of the saloon began on 27 December 1945, after the Wolfsburg factory had been brought back into operation under British control.

Production ended on 30 July 2003 at Volkswagen’s Puebla plant, where the final Type 1 was completed. In total, 21,529,464 Beetles were produced worldwide. The end date refers to the original Beetle, not the later New Beetle, which entered production in the late 1990s and used a modern front-engine platform.

Another common mix-up is 1978: that was when European sedan production ended. Beetle manufacture continued in other countries, especially Mexico, until 2003.