EU exports continuing as Volkswagen U-turns on Polo’s demise

Volkswagen’s supposed cancelling of the Polo in Europe this year has been overturned as a result of the European Union’s relaxing of the controversial Euro 7 emission regulation requirements.

Saved by EU6e

Unlikely to still be implemented next year as planned, the undisclosed watering down of the some regulations, now called Euro 6e or EU6e, has resulted in Wolfsburg being able to continue with Polo sales on the Old Continent until at least 2030 without the need for dropping the range of combustion engines.

At the beginning of the last year, it was reported that sales of the Polo would officially cease in 2024, followed by the T-Cross a year later – their respective places being taken by the all-electric ID.2all in 2026 and the ID.2all SUV in 2027.

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In making the announcement of the surprise turnaround to Britain’s Autocar, former Volkswagen South Africa boss and now CEO of the brand’s passenger vehicle division, Thomas Schäfer, said the relaxing of the rules had afforded it the opportunity to extend the Polo’s lifecycle due to the EU6e regulations not being “as crazy it was posited initially”.

Confirmed for implementation in September this year, the EU6e rules will reportedly differ incrementally from the current Euro 6, and therefore allow the Polo to continue in its current mechanical guise without requiring modifications or electrical assistance to help reduce emissions.

South Africa set to benefit massively

Indirectly confirming a report from Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport in January that the ID.2all has been pushed back to 2026, a claimed vehemently denied by Wolfsburg days later, the continuation of the Polo will be to the benefit of Volkswagen South Africa announced earlier this year as being the sole factory entrusted with global production outside of China.

Exported to 38 countries from the Kariega Plant in both right-and-left-hand-drive, Volkswagen South Africa’s securing of the Polo would have added an additional 10 000 units once production shifted exclusively to the Eastern Cape facility.

As it stands, this is likely to be increased further given EU6e regulations, plus Volkswagen having committed to it and the Polo Vivo until 2029.

Three models

Last month, it was confirmed that Wolfsburg had approved a R4-billion investment into Kariega for the long awaited production of the mystery third model, an SUV, that will manufactured from 2027.

An apparent joint venture with Volkswagen India and Brazil, the still unnamed model will ride on the same MQB A0 platform as the Polo and Polo Vivo, which will be reclassified as MQB A0 Entry and also produced in India as the successor for the T-Cross’ market specific twin, the Taigun.

Teased in February by sister brand Skoda, where a badge engineered version of the Taigun is marketed as the Kushaq, the newcomer will initially debut in March next year, before bowing in South America a year later below the Nivus sold as the Spanish-made Taigo in South Africa.

While planned for introduction in 2025, before being delayed till 2026 and now 2027, the South African-market specific SUV will be powered exclusively by a combustion engine projected to be the same TSI units currently powering the Polo.

Polo will be updated

Despite an all-new generation being off the table, Schäfer stated that a number of updates will be applied on the back of the current facelift model introduced three years ago.

“We will keep it fresh. The car runs well. It’s a good entry into the brand,” Autocar quoted him as saying.

Declining to comment on what the EU6e will mean for the ID.2all., ID.2all SUV and the all-electric replacement for the up! supposed to arrive in 2027, Schäfer added that other requirements under the EU7 mandate also played a part in the now overturned decision to discontinue the Polo.

“EU7 has been done in a reasonable way; it adds costs to the vehicle but not too crazily. What adds cost tremendously is General Safety Regulation 2, [which mandates] interior cameras and a couple of things you need to add to the platform. So that’s the real complication, but we did it now across the brands, and I think we can carry on,” he said.

The lifecycle expansion in Europe will, therefore, result in the plant, located in the town formerly called Uitenhage, building on the 1.5-million units it exported in February after last year shipping 101 557 examples, its highest since 2019’s 108 442.

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