VOLKSWAGEN TO STOP PRODUCTION OF THE BEETLE
Volkswagen announced that the company would stop producing its Beetle compact car globally in 2019 as the automaker prepares for a leap toward a future of mass-market electric cars.
This will be the second time that VW has stopped production of the Beetle which was the iconic symbol of VW from 1945 until 1979 when it was replaced by the Golf, although some may remember it as the Rabbit. In 1994, VW unveiled the Concept One, a “retro” themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in 1998 VW introduced the “New Beetle” built on the contemporary Golf platform with styling recalling the original iconic car. Initially the “New Beetle” was a success story for VW, with sales of more than 80,000 cars in the United States in 1999. However, VW only sold 11,151 total Beetles through the first eight months of 2018, with sales down 2.2 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The demise of the New Beetle comes from U.S. consumers preferring the Jetta platform and Tiguan compact sport utility vehicle.
But who knows what the future holds so, maybe we will see a new “New Beetle” model for 2038.
READY TO EAT IS BEATING OUT READY TO HEAT
Food companies are fighting for space on your table for meals with ready to eat beating out ready to heat.
Ready to heat giant, Campbell Soup has been trading at four-year lows stock prices, while food delivery business, GrubHub, an online and mobile food-ordering company that connects diners with local restaurants, keeps moving upward and breaking record highs for the company. Chicago based GrubHub, has surged 95 percent so far this year in its best performance since it went public in 2015, pushing its market cap to nearly $13 billion almost a billion above Campbell Soup’s $12 billion market value. But don’t count out the American producer of canned soups and related products which are sold in more than 120 countries globally as there is a reason that Campbells has been served at meal times since 1869 and seen a few dips in the market over its 149 years in business.
So what is going to be on your table tonight?
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OCTOBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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