Volkswagen said on Thursday it would stop producing its Beetle compact car globally in 2019, ending a model that looked backward to the 1960s counter-culture as the automaker prepares for a leap towards a future of mass-market electric cars.

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The VW Beetle and the VW minibus became symbols of the small-is-beautiful aesthetic of many in the post-war Baby Boom and the crescent shaped car was revived with the "New Beetle" of the late 1990s, which offered a built-in flower vase.

The New Beetle was a hit during its early years, with sales of more than 80,000 cars in the United States in 1999. More recently the car`s U.S. sales have suffered along with most other small cars.

Volkswagen sold 11,151 total Beetles through the first eight months of 2018, down 2.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. U.S. consumers looking for a small Volkswagen vehicle overwhelmingly prefer the Jetta sedan, or a Tiguan compact sport utility vehicle.

The company said two special models will join the final lineup - Final Edition SE and Final Edition SEL - in the United States and would offer driver-assistance technology.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)