VW to unveil 2012 Beetle in three continents

On April 18, Volkswagen will introduce its all-new ‘21st Century’ Beetle with an elaborate world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show. Almost simultaneously, the Beetle will debut in New York and Berlin as part of a ‘World Stage’ event celebrating VW’s alliance with MTV.

The Beetle’s unveiling at the New York event will be streamed live on the web with highlights to be broadcast later on MTV channels around the world.

Luca de Meo, Director of Marketing for the Volkswagen Group, said "The Beetle is an icon of the automotive world, just like MTV is an icon of the music world. In the context of this marketing alliance, we are taking the new Volkswagen directly to our customers and fans of the Volkswagen brand – and we are doing it globally. We are certain that the car’s one-of-a-kind styling combined with the latest technology will be very well received by customers."

Very few details about the new Beetle have been released so far, with VW only saying that the exterior ‘reinterprets the silhouette of the famous Volkswagen Beetle and combines stylistic elements borrowed from the original with the latest technology’.

More details are expected to be released during the lead up to the Shanghai Auto Show which begins April 21.