Auto industry VW-Kombi

Published on October 15th, 2012 | by Christopher DeMorro

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After 55 Years, VW Type 2 Bus Production Comes To An End

In my humble opinion, the greenest cars are the ones that are already on the road, and there is no denying that cars have become incredibly complicated devices from their relatively simple roots. So it saddens me to report that after 55 years, the Volkswagen Kombi, also known as the Type 2 or simply the VW bus, will cease to be built at the end of 2013.

Yup, believe it or not Volkswagen has been building essentially the same bus, albeit in a slightly updated form, for the past 55 years. Why didn’t you know? Well that’s because Volkswagen has been building the Kombi solely in Brazil. The last major update to this ancient-by-automotive-standards vehicle came in 2005, when the air-cooled engine was FINALLY replaced by a water-cooled four-banger.

Since it went on sale in Brazil in 1957, Volkswagen has sold 1.5 million Kombi buses. But that run is about to come to an end, and while Volkswagen has pledged a replacement commercial vehicle, it won’t be in the guise of the all-electric VW Bulli microbus.

I don’t have to tell you that the VW Type 2 is an iconic vehicle the world over, and the fact that Volkswagen still builds and sells them more than 60 years after its original introduction is kind of amazing. Then again, countries like Mexico were still using the VW Beetle as taxicabs due to their low cost and rugged reliability, which is possible because of a simple design.

Automakers need to get back-to-basics and deliver this kind of durability with today’s cars. Datsun is working to revive the idea of low-cost, basic transportation, and I expect Volkswagen will want to compete in this low-end market as well. But can either company reproduce the success of the VW Kombi and count on decades of sales? That’s a tall order to be sure.

Source: Car & Driver



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About the Author

A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.


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  • Jason Carpp

    I totally agree. With the discontinuation of some of the best cars and trucks, car makers need to bring back the popular brand names. I’m too young to remember the Datsun name. I was 13 yrs old when Nissan dropped the Datsun name from its lineup of cars. I do remember the rear-engined VW Vanagon, and was more than disappointed when they dropped it from Volkswagen’s line of vehicles. I’m also disappointed that none of the car makers are willing to offer their cars with diesel engines. This is so wrong!

  • http://twitter.com/RyanLum ryan lum (@RyanLum)

    imho, vw is making a bad decision. and why haven’t they been selling these in the us? i would have bought on for sure, as i’m sure countless others here in california would have. the vanagon is a classic icon but instead they’ll bring out other cars that people won’t be interested in buying.

    • Doug B

      Because the Kombi does not meet safety and emissions requirements in the US.
      VW still sells the updated van in Europe, but for some reason refuses to bring it to the US.

    • http://www.facebook.com/wayne.moore2 Wayne Moore

      I agree, and all the new fad for the manufacturers to redo all their retro cars, here is a perfect candidate… they dont have to do anything

    • Jason Carpp

      I agree, Ryan. I’m not against retro cars. But what’s retro, except a modern version of the vintage cars. Why don’t they just bring back the old cars? I remember my parents having a 1968-69 Datsun PL510 station wagon. I also remember my aunt and uncle owning a Datsun PL521 pickup truck. Now those were cars. The only thing I would’ve done to make them better is put a diesel engine under their respective hoods.

  • http://www.vwbussale.com vw bus

    they want to let the past to be history, he can not be legend if still alive

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