Simple question, unexpected answer
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The Volkswagen Beetle overtakes Ford's legendary Model T to take the title of best-selling car of all time.
On this day, the 15,007,034th Beetle rolls off the Volkswagen assembly line. It's the car that breaks the record held by the Model T – built by Ford from 1908 to 1927 – for more than four decades.
The life of the Beetle begins in the 1930s and is a dark chapter in the history of Volkswagen. And that's because the car that would prove to be the most popular of all time began as a vision of Adolf Hitler, who had just become chancellor of Germany and wanted to build roads, but also cheap cars for the people. At the time, Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche was already working on designing a small car for the masses. Hitler and Porsche met, with the engineer tasked with designing what was called “the people's car”.
photo: AP
In fact, mass production of the car that would later be called the Beetle began after the war and in the 1950s, VW's best seller crossed the Atlantic and arrived in the US. Initially, the reception from American consumers was lukewarm to say the least, both because of their traditional preference for large cars and because of Volkswagen's ties to Hitler. But the legendary advertising campaign launched in 1959 by the Doyle Dane Bernbach company, promoting the car's small size as its big advantage, turned the game around. The Beetle became sought after in the American market.
In 1998, Volkswagen began selling the 'New Beetle', but continued to produce its predecessor. On July 30, 2003, the last of the original Beetle rolled off the company's production line in Mexico, ending a 60-year history during which more than 21 million such cars were sold worldwide.
< p>But is the Beetle the best-selling car of all time? The answer is not so simple.
Model T is the number one in sales per capita
In 1908, Henry Ford decided to build a car that his factory workers could buy. The result was a truly revolutionary car. The Model T was the first car to sell 1 million units, then became the first to break the 5 million, 10 million and finally 15 million barriers.
Historians estimate that the 1914, 9 out of 10 cars in circulation around the world were Fords.
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And the truth is that in 1972, when the Beetle broke the Model T's record, the number of drivers in the world had grown exponentially. Therefore, one can safely say that no car will ever be able to surpass the Model T's record for sales per capita. In this sense, we can say that Ford's Model T is the most popular car of all time.
The Beetle sold the most identical cars
Until By 2003, when the original Beetle was discontinued by Volkswagen, more than 21 million such cars had been built.
What's remarkable, then, is that a car designed in the 1930s is still in demand even in the 21st century, without having changed substantially. Based on this criterion, some insist it is the best-selling car of all time.
photo: AP
Corolla is the best-selling name
< p>Toyota launched the Corolla in Japan in 1966 and the success of this reliable car was immediate. In 1974, it made its world market debut, and by 1997, Toyota had sold more cars under the Corolla name than Volkswagen had with the Beetle. The strictest believe that the Corolla does not deserve the title of the first selling car, as it is a model that has changed over the years. But Toyota counters that the Corolla has simply adapted to the times. ;οιο αυτοκλνητο ελναι το best seller oλων τω&nu ; εποχo&nu???” />
photo: AP
By 2021, Toyota had sold 50 million Corollas, from its 12 generations car and feels entitled to advertise it as the world's best-selling car.
What is certain is that the title of the most popular car of all time is worth its weight in gold, as it provides the carmaker who owns it with valuable free advertising. . For this reason, the battle for its conquest is not expected to end as long as there are competing car manufacturers.
