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Finally, 2012 Beetle sales are picking up

9K views 48 replies 26 participants last post by  Pushing Fifty 
#1 ·
March sales of the Beetle were 1,969 units :banana: This is far better than what Dec, Jan, and Feb brought with 1500,1400, and 1300, respectively. I humbly apologize to anyone who happened to read my gloomy posts regarding this topic, but I was honestly very concerned about the latest Beetle's seemingly slow start, and I tried equating this to the entire future of water-cooled Beetle enthusiasts. It looks like most of the post-2012 crowd will be in loaded Turbos while I would be fine with a Base 2.5, but that's ok as long as people are still keeping the Beetle alive. Puebla must have at least partially resolved some production issues, and this is great news! Some 1.2 million New Beetles were sold worldwide between 98 and 10, and I hope the same or more 2012+ models do likewise up to 2024. :D
 
#2 ·
That's good news. Although, I still have not carabugged with any new Beetles. I have only caught a glimpes of one, in the wild. :eek:
 
#3 ·
Was at the dealer yesterday for a drain plug and saw a 2012 sunroof beetle. Was gone when I left the parts counter( bummer). Then saw a black one with sunroof in traffic. Must have gotten the sunroof glitch worked out.
Which I cold have seen one up close and personel.
 
#7 ·
I actually have seen several of the 2012's on the road. One day last week I saw 3 of them within a 2 mile radius. They look pretty sharp from the front coming at ya. Still can't get too excited about the rear. Just don't care for those really ugly tail lights.
 
#10 ·
X2, but Tornado Red! :bigthumb:
 
#12 ·
The latest update, May 1, 2012:

VW sold 2065 21st century Beetles in April. (US alone)

This makes 12,364 since its October launch. Of those, 5626 took place in 2011, and 6738 so far in 2012. Again, I apologize for ever fearing this car could be a flop. While Jetta and Passat sales dwarf Beetle sales, the Beetle actually outsells the Eos, Golf, GTI, CC, Toureag, and Routan.

You could clump the Golf/GTI and the Passat/CC together, I suppose, but even then, the Bug still outsells Eos, T-reg, and Routan (which is really a Chrysler, anyway).
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
Thought I'd share an interesting tidbit with everyone....

I went to our local VW dealership today for an oil change (my car is still under warranty and therefore free :party:). Anywho, the service department was closed (figures) so I parked Jolene and decided to take a peek at their 2012's.

They had 10 or so on their lot, several turbos and in white, yellow, red, and a brown (like a chocolate) that I've not yet seen on the road.

Of course, the salesmen converge upon my like vultures and after I set them straight right fast I asked the one remaining sales guy about sales of the 2012's. He said that in 5 days he had personally sold 3, and they were selling them like crazy. He then pointed over to the side of the dealership and there was a woman getting the keys to her yellow 2012. So at least here in Knoxville sales are picking up. :)


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#21 ·
I asked the one remaining sales guy about sales of the 2012's. He said that in 5 days he had personally sold 3, and they were selling them like crazy. He then pointed over to the side of the dealership and there was a woman getting the keys to her yellow 2012. So at least here in Knoxville sales are picking up. :)


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This is good. The fact that Beetle commercials on TV are now a regular sight helps, too. ;)
 
#22 ·
I live in a major metro area and I have seen but one or two on the road, and then literally just about 4 days ago, in the parking lot of the building I was going into. It was a silver one, I believe with a sunroof. It had the old time style hubcaps.
But I am one who would notice any Bug on the road as of course, it's what I do, and some days, LOL, I'll count how many I've seen. So I think it's fairly representational that the sales have been slow. The silver 2012 I did just see had the temp paperwork on the back windshield, so it obviously is a new purchase, lending to the topic that sales are on the rise.
I personally don't care for the style changes. I think it should stay a rounded body and circular tailights-I don't like the angular edges and it looks less like a Bug should look-the hallmark shape is getting lost. Be that as it may, because it's a Bug, the 2012 still gets a degree of amnesty, so I wouldn't go so far as to say I can't stand it. And I do want to see sales soar on them because I want the Bug to continue to be produced!
 
#24 ·
I was in Asheville last week and the beginning of this week. Since the Beetle came out I had seen I think 3 or 4 on the roads around where I live. In Asheville, I saw 3 in 4 days!

Saw several at Southern Worthersee as well, but that's a VW show :p
 
#25 · (Edited)
Beetle sales for June, 2012 (US only) were 2914 units. While this is a bit down from May's 3002 units, there have now been 18,280 Beetles sold in the US since its release in October. This now surpasses the entire last year of NB sales in 2010. A few leftover new 2010 models were sold in 2011, but it was a very small number. Meanwhile VWoA as a whole is on a pace to easily break 400,000 sales for the year, which is something that hasn't been done since the mid-1970s!
 
#26 ·
I took my NB to the dealer for inspection and got a loaner car-Jetta TDI which I have to say was a nice ride.
As I was exiting the building, I commented on the 2012 Beetle sitting over there and learned it also was a loaner car!
I was about to request a switch if they could please, but the paperwork was already completed so I figured oh well. Would have been my chance for an independent test drive. Such is life, LOL
I sat in one in the showroom so at least got an idea of how different it feels. I drove off happy though in my own, but still happy to see the Beetle line continue.
 
#27 ·
I see quite a few in the wild around the salt lake city area... the salesmen are too vulture-y for me to have sat in one yet... let alone drive one:-(
I second the sentiment about the tail lights...everything else is growing on me for sure though:)

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#28 ·
I got to test-drive a 2012 way back in November. Even in Base form with an auto, it's an awesome car, funky taillights or not. Rumor has it that the Beetle will get another redesign for 2017, so maybe we'll eventually see round taillights again. :D

As for sales, here are the latest numbers for those interested: For July, 2839 Beetles were sold in the US. This makes 15493 for calendar year 2012 and a total of 21119 since its release in October, 2011. (5626 were sold from Oct-Dec, 2011.) May 2012 has been the best month so far with 3002 units, but even with a couple of drops the past 2 months, 2839 units for July is far better than the numbers we were seeing in the beginning, and the diesels and verts are coming soon!

It will be interesting to see if 21st Century Beetle sales are more stable than those of the previous New Beetles of 98-10. For example, the early NBs of 98-99 sold like 80K a year, then from 2000-2009, the numbers kept falling until there were less than 14K that went out the door in 2009. Then, in 2010, it rose to 16K again, but that was still only 20% of its initial burst when it was released. Perhaps the latest Beetle, albeit in smaller numbers, will have a far less volatile rollercoaster ride.
 
#31 ·
I've only seen one on the road other than ours since we bought it October 2011. I haven't seen many on the lots, either, here in central NJ. I suspect the lack of a convertible is hurting them. That said, the "new" 2012 Beetle has been a disaster for us. We've had Beetles every three years since 1999 (we skipped the 2011, which didn't exist). We love the new styling, the increased back seat room and easier access, and the keyless ignition, and the performance of the 5 and six-speed trans is about the same, which is to say, fine. But we've been disappointed in the things that have changed.

The automatic lowering of the windows in order to open the doors has to be the stupidest idea on any car. Two months after we bought it, we spent a weekend in New Hampshire. When we came out in the morning, there was frost on the car and the window was frozen shut, locking us out of the car. Fortunately, the passenger side was in the sun and after several tries, we got the passenger door open and were able to start the car and put on the heater. What would happen if a young woman, after a night at the club, came out to find herself locked out of her car in a dark parking lot at two AM? The Fender sound system is mediocre (the SD chip input is a nice touch, though)- much worse than the Monsoon system it replaced, and there's a buzz in the passenger door that the dealer can't seem to find. As a big Fender fan and long-time Stratocaster player, I'm pretty disappointed!

The air conditioner is inadequate. During our hot Jersey summers this year, we mostly drove my old 120,000-mile 2001 Ford Taurus during the day because the Beetle couldn't keep the car comfortable when the temp was above 90.

This is our fifth Beetle and it will be our last. We're sorry. We loved the cars. They screwed them up. We're done.
 
#32 ·
Sorry you have had a bad experience but even though my 2013 isn't here yet I've enjoyed all the 2012s I've been in. The window dropping wouldn't seem that bad to me. They did it in my 03 convertible beetle and I didn't have an issues with them getting stuck enough not to be able to open the door.


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