VW people's car all over again

On the eve of the Frankfurt motor show, VW unveil a model that it hopes will become the bestselling car on the planet. Rumours in the motor industry say it will be called the City Express. Or the Lupa. Or the iCar. But it’s almost certain to be nicknamed the Bug.

With a basic price of just £4,000 it will spearhead VW’s drive into China, India and other parts of the developing world where annual sales of budget cars are forecast to reach 10m by the time the Bug is ready in two years’ time.

Details are being kept under wraps for another 24 hours but, like its predecessor, its engine will be in the rear (though water-cooled, unlike the air-cooled Beetle), with fuel consumption of up to 100mpg and emissions as low as anything else on the market.

The car will be about 3.5 metres long with four seats,” said Markus Arand, a VW spokesman. “We’re talking about a small two or three-cylinder engine, which will be at the rear. It should be very flexible to meet the needs of different markets. We are being secretive about this because we want to have a spectacular world premiere.”

Flexibility in different markets is industry speak for the fact that there will be at least two versions of the car: one to meet the lower regulations of the developing world, and one to meet the stringent safety and emissions standards of the European Union and America. The western version is expected to cost about £1,000 more.

The Bug is set to be the most sophisticated of the new generation of cheap cars. The speculation is that among its features would be a combined entertainment, navigation and communication system designed by Apple, with voice recognition controls.

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VW trying their best to ensure that they can get the title back from toyota[the worlds best selling car] and if they get it right[especially the pricing part] they have a very good chance.The frankfurt auto show is really turning out to be a place to look out for cars for the developing markets.