· MEXICO ·
Why are VW Beetles Everywhere in Mexico?
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 19 Apr 2025
Are you curious about why there is an outrageous number of VW Beetles on the road in Mexico? Yeah, I was too. Read on for what I learnt!
After more than three months in Mexico, the one thing I remember repeatedly muttering was:
‘Oh look, yet another decrepit old Beetle!’
They’ve been present in every town we’ve stayed and I had no idea why. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me, so I had a read around to find out.
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Beetles in Mexico
It turns out the VW Beetle has been in Mexico since 1954 and was actually produced in the state of Puebla (a state bordering Mexico City) since 1967. One year later, 100,000 of these vehicles had been manufactured in Mexico. Despite Germany halting Beetle production in 1978, the original model (the ‘Type 1’) continued to be churned out in the Puebla Factory until 2003.
It has been described as ‘the car that motorized Mexico’.
Even the Mexican Government got in on the action. In 1988 they signed the ‘Car for the people’ decree which gave tax breaks to cars under a certain value. This resulted in a 20% discount for the Type 1 VW Beetle – making an already affordable vehicle yet more accessible to the masses. This smart move by the government led to VW sales tripling and resulted in VM dominating the Mexican car market with a 40% overall share.
MEXICO’S VOCHOS OBSESSION
The classic ‘Type 1’ Beetle, first made more than 60 years ago, is still known affectionately in Mexico as ‘Vochos’ or ‘Vochitos’ (pronounced ‘Bochos’, ‘Bochitos’ and occasionally written that way, too).
For decades, the Vochos were hailed by locals as cheap, yellow (and then green-and-white) cabs in Mexico City. By the late 1990s, it was estimated that around 1.1 million Vochos were moving people around the capital, 72,000 of which were taxis.
However, the use of the cars for this purpose has gradually faded out since then, when the government made it necessary for all cabs to use unleaded fuel. In the early 2000s, the authorities changed the rules again and required cabs to have four doors due to prevalent taxi crime.
Although you can still occasionally see these cars as cabs on the road today, the authorities revoked all Vocho taxi licenses in 2012 and their use is now technically illegal.
By 2019, the Puebla factory was the only manufacturer of the original ‘Type 1’ Beetle and the less popular modern version, but it ceased production on July 10th of that year. The final car, in denim stonewash blue, resides in a local museum.
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The Simple Things
All of this seemed strange to my naïve mind. Why was a quirky, German, slightly impractical car – once advertised by the company itself using the slogan ‘It’s ugly, but it gets you there’ – embraced so wholeheartedly by Mexico?
Well, it’s the simple things – inexpensive upkeep, the simplicity of repairs and the vehicle’s reliability and dexterity on the steep roads around Mexico City.
One of its practical advantages is the interchangeability of parts between models over decades. Another is the affordability and simplicity of these parts – a Mexico City cab driver named Ricardo nostalgically recalls that “You could replace the fan belt with panty hose”.
In an article in the Los Angeles Times, someone is quoted as saying “We Mexicans say, with a wire and a Chiclet you can fix a Vocho,” (Chiclet is a kind of chewing gum!).
Nicholas Caillens, a tour operator in Mexico City, is quoted in National Geographic saying ‘I’ve been restoring Bugs for over 10 years, and they’re basically sophisticated lawnmowers’. He goes on, saying ‘I’ve never had to call a tow truck; you don’t have to be a mechanic to fix them’.
There is something heart warming about the Bug in Mexico. It’s inexplicably tied to the culture, linking generations of people. The cars are seen as more a person than a utility. Mexico City resident Enrique Wanzke even describes them as ‘’the family member who lives in garage”.
Andrea Hiott, a German expert on the Bug puts it perfectly (and elegantly):
“For the better part of a century this car has been intertwined, in the most literal way, in people’s lives,”; “Seeing these cars on the road is like a time capsule. It opens people to memories, and prompts stories that might otherwise go untold — that’s why these objects matter.”; “By allowing us to travel back in time, they remind us of what’s important. In today’s overly complicated world, this car represents something very basic and earthy and genuine.”
A Final Thought – Beetles in Mexico
For me, this has been the most fun, touching and uplifting thing I have written in a while, possibly ever. I have a newfound adoration for this somewhat clunky, impractical, yet iconic car and what it stands for in Mexican society.
I’ll spot them on the streets now and feel a new sense of warmth towards them.
I hope you will too.
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Thank you, Claire + Nick
Love this article. Here in Guadalajara for the week and have seen more bugs than I ever saw on multiple previous trips to Mexico city. Seems that people are beginning to appreciate them once again.