VW camper ends production after 63 years - Christian Dalera

The Volkswagen Kombi camper van will finally be killed off after 63 years of continuous production; the last Kombi will be built December 31, 2013.

The nine-seat Kombi, introduced in 1950, is currently sold exclusively in the South American market as the T2, and made solely in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

New safety regulations requiring driver- and passenger-side airbags and ABS brakes in Brazil, its largest market, will edge it out of production next year, though, reports AutoCar.

Egon Feichter, VW’s product development chief for Brazil, said revising the Kombi to meet the new regulations just wasn't feasible, since it'd basically have to be remade into a new car.

The safety requirements are the only thing holding back production of the Kombi, he added, since it still meets all applicable emission regulations in the country.

VW's Anchieta factory turns out about 250 Kombi camper vans a day.

(AutoCar)