The company made the announcement in September that the 2019 model would be the "Final Edition" Beetle. The iconic cars were designed in either a convertible or hardtop versions with prices starting at $27,295 and $23,045 respectively, CNN reported.
The last generation of the Beetle sold about 1.7 million cars, Car and Driver reported.
Ferdinand Porsche, the namesake of the Porsche sports car, designed a "People's Car," or literally Volkswagen in German, at the request of Adolf Hitler. The car went into full production after the end of World War II.
By 1955, the company sold a million Beetles, The Associated Press reported.
It didn't take center stage in pop culture until the Disney film "The Love Bug" hit theaters in 1968 and starred Herbie, the anthropomorphic race car.
It then became popular during the late '60s and '70s. It ended production in Mexico in 2003. More than 21 million cars were made before the line was retired.
Eventually, the biggest foreign market for the car was the United States, which drove 40% of the vehicle's production run in 1968, the AP reported.
Production of the Beetle ended in Germany in 1978, but the plant in Mexico, which started producing the cars in 1967, continued building them until 2003, the AP reported.
There were two redesigns, one in 1998 and another in 2012.
The final Beetle, which will be honored in a ceremony Wednesday, will go directly from the assembly line to a Volkswagen museum, CNN reported.
The factory that produced the Beetle will be used to make a compact SUV for the North American market.
About the Author