I think some of ya’ll are overestimating the amount of miles pool guys, handymen, window cleaners, plumbers, etc drive per day especially in big metro areas and around suburbs, tooling down stop and go roads and cul-de-sacs. Its really hard to get to 150 or even 120 in between service calls, etc. If I drove l”my 12 mile commute right now that takes me 40 minutes, and if I’m a tradesman I don’t schedule 12 of those segments in a day. 5-6 miles between jobs is far more reasonable. Same if I am in a mid-site city, I don’t do 150 per day around town and if I drive 25 miles to a work site I will stay half the day and charge a service fee.
150 miles averaged across work days is 37k per year, and that’s a big number for anyone who doesn’t have a long commute.
I agree that I’d rather own or drive a kei truck or a used Ranger. But if wanted a car I can drop off for service without ordering parts from Japan or a junkyard and get on the road, and in warranty till I decide to off-load it, this looks very attractive.
I looked it up and the aging Nissan Leaf, which is more expensive, similar range, and less utility than this has gone up in sales by 187 percent compared to the same quarter in 2023. I see them wrapped all the time for maid services, delivery, etc.
This doesn’t have to be the new Beetle. Just has to sell enough reliably to justify. I look at it and see tons of places where its what is needed, especially if the conversion is as easy as they say.
Lada Niva 4X4.