Filing may uncover plans for hybrid VW Beetle coming soon

Volkswagen Beetle Dune Hybrid concept, New York City, May 2015

Just a few months ago, we heard that Volkswagen was not planning to develop a successor to the current Beetle but a recent filing shows that it might have one last hurrah for 2019.

A June filing by supplier Magneti Marelli shows an instrument cluster that appears almost identical to the current Beetle cluster, but with an all new tachometer window that shows an electric charge gauge similar to the e-Golf’s cluster.

It may be an indication that Volkwagen is planning to build a hybrid Beetle similar to the concept that it showed a few years ago.

A spokesman for Volkswagen declined to comment on the filing.

Possible Beetle Hybrid gauge

Details on the potential new car are scarce, but the attachments in the filing show that Magneti Marelli submitted the information on June 14 and requested to keep a portion of the application confidential until December 14.

While the full user manual for the car is indeed confidential, they neglected to properly hide the diagram for the cluster in the public label document which displays the electric charge gauge.

The Beetle Hybrid concept was based on the 44 mpg Jetta Hybrid and its 1.4-liter gasoline engine combined with a 20-kw (27-hp) electric motor, but that car is no longer in production. This new Beetle could possibly be based on the Audi A3 e-tron that is still available. Unlike the Jetta, which was a traditional hybrid, the A3 e-tron is a plug-in hybrid which has a range of 16 miles on electric-only power. The A3 e-Tron uses a variant of the same 1.4-liter gasoline engine but coupled to a bigger 75-kw (100-hp) electric motor.

A report included in the filing shows that tests were completed on the cluster in May, which gives us some confidence that this is a product that is nearing production.

The diagrams for the cluster also show a light update for the speedometer but the rest of the cluster is generally identical to the most recent Beetle.

We will be digging further to see if this is the latest electrified Volkswagen and the last blast for the Beetle before it's exterminated.

VW Cheats EPA Tests, Faces Up to $18 Billion in Fines

Unnamed sources within Volkswagen have confirmed that the German automaker fitted its “clean” TDi diesel cars with devices meant to detect when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and will activate full emissions controls only during the official test. That confession comes after findings from West Virginia University, which uncovered the defeat devices, led to company officials being questioned by both CARB and the EPA.

The device in question deactivated key emissions controls systems, and the popular VW TDi modelsfitted with the cheat- a list that, so far, includes the VW Golf, Jetta, Beetle, and Passat TDi models, as well as the Audi A3 and A4- produced up to 40% more nitrogen oxide and other dangerous emissions, in some cases.

For its part, the EPA is absolutely losing its s*** about this, stating that “it is incumbent” on Volkswagen to initiate a recall fix for all the affected cars. “Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, (the) EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. (The) EPA will continue to investigate these very serious matters.”

If the EPA and CARB decide to press the dual issues of Volkswagen deliberately cheating environmental testing procedures and marketing their TDi models as “clean diesels“, it could levy fines of up to 18 billion (with a b) US American dollars on VW. An amount which could be enough to force VW out of the US market.

What do you guys think about this mess? Should Volkswagen be held liable to fullest extent of the law for violating the public’s trust by willfully and maliciously manipulating the EPA test procedures? Should VW be given a slap on the wrist because we all love the Beetle? Is this just the tip of a fraudulent clean diesel iceberg that will soon sink Mercedes-Benz and BMW, too? Let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Source | Images: AutoGuide, IIHS.