Mexico City to retire the last of its VW Bug taxis
A taxi driver takes his vintage beetle Volkswagen along the streets of Mexico City in 2007.
By the end of this year, the last of Mexico City’s well known Volkswagen Beetle taxis will leave the city streets, signifying the end of a fixture of the capital’s urban landscape, according to The Associated Press.
The last taxi permits for VW "bugs" will expire at the end of December, the news agency said, citing Victor Ramirez, director of taxi services at the city’s transportation office.
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Not to be confused with the Volkswagen New Beetle, the VW bug has not been manufactured since 2003, according to the AP. The Volkswagen, or “people’s car,” was first ordered developed by Adolf Hitler in 1933. Production remained small scale until the end of the war, according to Wikipedia.
The car began mass production in Mexico in 1955 but this ceased in 2003.
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According to the AP, Mexico City began requiring the use of four-door taxes in 2003. Those manufactured in 2002 were the last allowed to enter service as taxis.
Volkswagen, which now manufactures an updated version of the bug, announced yesterday that February had seen a 42.5 percent year-on-year increase in US sales for the month of February, with 30,577 units sold that month.