Volkswagen Brazil to end production of Kombi model

Volkswagen is to end production of its Kombi transporter van, made only in Brazil, with the model bowing out in a special 600-unit manufacturing run, the German carmaker said Thursday in a statement. Some 1.5 million Kombi models have rolled off the lines of Volkswagen's assembly plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a Sao Paulo suburb, between 1957 and July 2013, the company said. Launched in Germany in 1950, the Kombi boasts the "longest longevity in the car industry history," the statement said, adding that the "Last Edition Kombi" will be sold at a suggested price of $38,000. Kombi models assembled in Brazil have since 1970 been exported to countries including Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela and Uruguay.