[RahulNagaraj]

According to media reports, Volkswagen has ended production of its Polo model in Europe after 40 years. The Volkswagen Polo has been in production at its Spain plant since 1984. Over the years, the company has built more than 8.4 million units, making it one of Europe's top-selling cars.



This year alone, Volkswagen sold over 90,000 units of the Polo through August 2024, making it Europe's 8th best-selling car. Now, the carmaker has decided to shift focus to producing smaller, affordable EVs at its Spain facility. The plant is already scheduled to begin producing two small electric SUVs in 2026. Both electric SUVs are said to be based on a modified version of VW's MEB platform, which currently underpins its current ID Series.

Volkswagen showcased the ID.2all Concept last year. The production version of the concept will sit below the ID.3. It is expected to be priced at around $27,500. Thomas Shafer, CEO of Volkswagen, stated that the ID2.all previews "where we want to take the brand."

The upcoming affordable electric SUV from Volkswagen was even spotted testing for the first time recently.

Source: Electrek

Link to Team-BHP news

[Mitadru]

Does this mean that the nameplate Polo has been put to rest permanently , or will it continue production in some other plant ? If it's the former, then it'll mark the end of a storied nameplate. And regarding their ID cars, I have my reservations, cause they aren't the best electric vehicles available, and also have lots of software issues, as has been reported in many websites. And what about their strategy of not calling their electric cars ID , and instead would stick to conventional naming of their cars ? And will an electric Polo be launched in the future?

[ron178]

Originally Posted by Mitadru

Does this mean that the nameplate Polo has been put to rest permanently , or will it continue production in some other plant ?

Production of all European Polos (including LHD) has shifted to VW's Kariega plant in South Africa, this was announced in February. Latin American hatchbacks are all made in Brazil, but Virtus production is allocated to Brazil or India depending on the market.

[volkman10]

VW's Polo gets a farewell in Spain. To make way for two electric SUVs in the B-segment.




- Will produce two 4.10-meter-long electric SUVs, the Skoda Epiq and Volkswagen ID.2 X, whose arrival on the market will take place in 2026-2027.

- The Polo will be replaced within a year by the ID.2, a 100% electric model of similar dimensions (4.05 meters long), but with an aesthetic inspired by the incombustible Golf. Rumors suggest that its final commercial name could be Rabbit, the name used by the first-generation Golf in the U.S. market.

-Like the Epiq and ID.2 X, both will sit on the Volkswagen Group's MEB Entry platform.

- The ID.2 will have a target starting price of 25,000 euros before aid, in line with rivals such as the Citroën ë-C3, the FIAT Grande Panda or the Renault 5, which will arrive on the market a year earlier. The German utility vehicle will be offered with two batteries, a 38 kWh LFP (lithium-iron phosphate) and a 56 kWh NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese). Its maximum range will be around 450 km WLTP.

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Sad times - lots of storied small hatchback names are seemingly being shuttered in Europe. You've seen the Fiesta, the Polo, to some extent the Panda. Sad to see the quintessential European supermini getting culled by the inexorable march of the crossovers.

Speaking of name plates, what's VW's plan long term? They've gone to all these lengths to have their ID series of EVs that mostly have comparable legacy ICE brands to match up to, but none of these have the brand cache of say a Polo, or more importantly the Golf. At some point the Golf will become EV only and what happens to the ID3? Surely it gets shuttered as it's essentially the EV Golf product in all but name and some key Golf styling cues.

This isn't solely limited to VW either. I can't make head or tail of the Mercedes EV naming sequence especially considering an EQS could be both the sedan or the SUV. Anyway that's a slight tangent.

Even today that Mk5 Polo looks so good. Sure it's a bit boring and plain but at the same time it ages so very very well.

[volkman10]

2026 VW Polo.

There is now a rumor the new EV will actually be called “Polo”. Which would make a lot more sense than “ID.Something”.

VW is still targeting a price of under 25,000 Euros for the new EV. Which is fine but who really knows how much it will be in 2 years. VW is currently in trouble and they need, again, to cut costs. Germany’s current economic problems pushed the country to stop offering incentives for EVs and sales have been tanking for the past few months.

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Well that answers my question about the impending issue they'll eventually run into when they'll have to decide on legacy name plates with brand recall and cache Vs this new ID naming scheme. Makes sense they'll do the switch with the Polo to start and guage public opinion. The Golf is still too bellwether for VW to take any risks with.

But like you allude to in your excerpt, VW have some very big structural issues to contend with. I pretty much blame the series of very reactionary responses taken post Dieselgate but alas what do I know, I'm just typing on a keyboard with no shiny MBA or such to my name.

[volkman10]

VW Polo will continue to live on with a 2025 facelift, because not everything needs to be an EV.

VW’s R&D boss confirmed that the Polo will receive a major update next year.
The ICE-powered hatchback will comply with the stricter emission regulations.
Still, VW will slim-down its European ICE-powered lineup in the coming years.

the plucky ICE-powered stalwart is sticking around. A VW executive has confirmed plans for a significant update in 2025, proving that reports of the Polo’s demise were, to borrow a phrase, greatly exaggerated

Polo is slated for an “extensive update” in 2025, timed to coincide with the rollout of stringent Euro 7 emissions standards.

hinted at broader adoption of mild-hybrid tech across VW’s ICE lineup.

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