Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
In 1938, the first Volkswagen Beetle — the Type 1 — rolled off the production line. Because all CleanTechnica readers are well about average, you all know that “Volkswagen” in German means “people’s car.” Eventually, more than 21 million Beetles were manufactured in as many as 20 different factories around the world. One of those factories was in Puebla, Mexico, where the last Type 1 Beetle was made in 2003.
This week in Mexico, the government moved one step closer to creating a “national car” — the Olinia Uno. It is scheduled to go into production in 2027 with a starting price tag of $8,400. The Olinia is designed to be the “people’s car” for Mexico today that the Volkswagen Type 1 was for Germans nearly a century ago.
To the casual observer, the Olinia Uno is not a thing of beauty. It does not have swoopy styling, falcon-wing doors, or 21 inch wheels. What it does have is a low price and room for 6 or a bunch of cargo. Such utilitarian cars were once popular in many countries, including the FIAT 500 in Italy, the Citroen 2 CV in France, and the original Mini in the UK.
According to Mexico Business, Project Olinia has begun negotiating with ten national and international organizations to establish a public-private partnership that will be able to secure industrial capital, operational expertise, and after-sales infrastructure to support an initial production target of 50,000 units by 2029.
