Volkswagen halts production of Polo in Spain

According to Automotive News Europe, the Volkswagen Group's Pamplona plant in Spain has ceased production of the Polo compact car in favour of an affordable all-electric compact car. However, the Volkswagen Group is still selling Polo cars in Europe that were built at the Kariega plant in South Africa.

The Volkswagen Group's Pamplona plant has been producing Polo models since 1984 and has produced a total of 8.4 million Polo cars. The report says that the plant will begin production of two all-electric compact SUVs in 2026, one from the VW brand and one from Skoda, and that both will be built on a shortened front-wheel drive version of the MEB platform. The reason for such a tweak to the MEB platform is that VW is aiming to sell the two aforementioned electric SUVs at prices closer to those of combustion-engine models. The Skoda model is called Epiq and has a starting price of €25,000, while the Volkswagen-branded model is called the ID.2all SUV.

The Volkswagen Group is also building an electric compact hatchback based on the adapted MEB platform, which will be built at its Martorell plant in Spain.

The VW Group noted that in addition to the two electric compact SUVs mentioned above, its Pamplona plant will continue to produce petrol versions of the T-Cross and Taigo.

Polo sales have declined in Europe in recent years as consumers have shifted to smaller SUVs such as the Volkswagen T-Roc and T-Cross. In the first eight months of this year, VW sold 90,107 Polos in Europe, making it the eighth best-selling small car in Europe, according to market researcher Dataforce. And 10 years ago, the Volkswagen Polo sold almost twice as many units in the same period, making it the fourth best-selling model in Europe.