Volkswagen Polo to be discontinued after 12 years of production

The Volkswagen Polo will soon go off the showroom floors, and so far there is no replacement in the works. 

The Volkswagen Polo, which is the most affordable product in the German carmaker’s portfolio, will soon be discontinued. The Polo is based on the PQ24 platform – VW’s PQ25 platform underpins the Vento and the Rapid. The hatchback went on sale in the first half of 2010. Back then, the Polo was offered with petrol and diesel engines. A few months after the Polo’s debut, Volkswagen brought in the Polo GT but not the GT TSI. The Polo GT, which debuted in 2010, had the Vento’s 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine.

After a few years into the product’s life cycle, the GT badge was extended to the diesel model as well. In 2013, the Volkswagen Polo GT TDI was introduced, which featured the 1.6-litre turbo-diesel unit of the Vento diesel. At the same time, the Polo GT TSI made its first appearance. The GT TSI was equipped with a 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, which was mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DSG) – they were the most advanced engine and gearbox transmission of the time. The GT TSI with the DSG transmission was offered for a long time.

In 2016, Volkswagen introduced the GTI; however, the firm smartly avoided the use of the Polo name. The three-door lifestyle hatchback was powered by a 1.8-litre turbo-petrol and a seven-speed DSG. The sticker price of the GTI was above Rs 20 lakh, therefore Volkswagen did not use the Polo nametag and reserved it for the family hatchback.

In 2020, just before the BS6 norms were regulated, Volkswagen launched the updated Polo, which had a downsized engine, with increased power output. For the first time, the Polo featured a six-speed torque convertor automatic as well. The same car is currently on sale now but until the stock last.

For now, Volkswagen is focusing on the Virtus, which is indeed a replacement for the Vento. The firm has not made an official statement regarding a replacement for the Polo; however, we can expect a new hatchback based on the same MQB-A0-IN platform sometime in the future.

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