While Volkswagen has already announced the replacement of Vento in the form Virtus, there are no plans on the Polo replacement
Recently it was confirmed that Volkswagen will be discontinuing its most popular model in India- the Polo. The German carmaker will be pulling the plug on the much-loved sporty hatchback after being in continuous production for twelve years ever since it was launched in the country way back in 2010.
The model launched in India was the fifth generation VW Polo and ever since its launch in the country, the hatchback has received a generation upgrade in international markets. In fact, the sixth-gen Polo has also received a mid-life facelift recently. However, the Indian market continued to receive the old fifth-gen all these years.
VW Polo production to be discontinued
The German brand did, however, provide multiple powertrains, features, cosmetics and other updates in addition to a couple of mid-life facelifts over the course of its existence in order to keep it up to date. Although an exact date hasn’t been revealed yet, Volkswagen will soon be ending production of Polo in India, probably by the second quarter of 2022.
Not only Polo but its platform sibling Vento will also be dropped from production soon. Some reports suggest that Vento will continue to remain in sale till May while reservations for Polo will be stopped from June onwards. Both models are based on the older PQ25 platform and VW will now solely be focussing on the latest MQB A0 IN architecture which has been specifically designed for the Indian market.
Will Polo make a return to India?
The bigger question arises “will Volkswagen revive the ‘Polo’ brand in India at any time in the future?”. As things stand now, it seems highly unlikely that Volkswagen will be bringing back the Polo nameplate to India. Earlier, it was speculated that the German carmaker would develop a new India-specific Polo based on the heavily localised MQB A0 IN platform.
However, as per latest update, Volkswagen India has confirmed on social media that they have no plans to launch the new gen Polo. We are unlikely to see a hatchback based on the MQB A0 IN architecture in the near future.
New gen Polo is just too expensive to take on rivals like Tata Altroz and Maruti Baleno. Agreed that Polo has a fan following, but it doesn’t translate into the kind of volume which justifies investment on localisation. Hatchback is no longer the focus of Volkswagen in India. But if the Slavia sedan becomes a hit, VW may think of cutting the boot and calling it Polo. Else it’s dead for India.
Before drawing curtains on its productions, Volkswagen has hinted that it will be launching some kind of a limited edition variant of Polo in order to give the iconic model a celebratory send-off. As of now, Volkswagen will be looking to expand its SUV and sedan lineup.
Polo- Variants, Prices, Powertrain Options
Volkswagen currently retails Polo in four trims namely Trendline, Comfortline, Highline Plus, and GT with prices starting from Rs 6.45 lakh and reaching up to Rs Rs 10.25 lakh (both prices ex-showroom). At present, it goes up against other premium hatchbacks including Maruti Baleno, Hyundai i20, Tata Altroz and Honda Jazz.
Powering Polo are two petrol engine options including a 1.0-litre MPI naturally aspirated unit and a more powerful 1.0-litre TSI turbo petrol unit. The former releases an output of 74 bhp and 95 Nm of peak torque while the latter dishes out 109 bhp and 174 Nm of peak torque. Transmission options include a 5-speed manual gearbox for the 1.0-litre NA unit and options to choose from a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter in the turbocharged unit.
