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After 40 years, Volkswagen decided to end production of its Polo model in Europe, which was made at the Pamplona plant in Spain and will be produced entirely at the Caliga plant in South Africa, the European Automotive News reported.

Volkswagen made this decision for two main reasons: first, sales of the less practical POLO declined in Europe as SUV models became more popular in Europe. Volkswagen sold 90107 Polo vehicles in Europe in the first eight months of this year, ranking eighth among the best-selling cars in Europe, according to market research firm Dataforce. Second, Volkswagen plans to launch a lower-cost MEB Entry precursor platform. Based on this platform, lower-cost pure electric small cars such as Volkswagen ID.2 all and Skoda Epiq will replace POLO. The Volkswagen ID.2all concept car was officially unveiled in March 2023. The new car is scheduled to release a production version in 2025 and go on sale in Europe in 2026, starting at less than 25000 euros. As for whether the car will be introduced into the domestic market, import or domestic introduction, the authorities have not yet disclosed the relevant information. Volkswagen says the ID.2al will be as spacious as golf and as affordable as the Polo.

A brief review of the history of Volkswagen Polo, the first generation of Polo was launched in 1975, the prototype car is an Audi 50 model that was popular in Europe in the 1970s, but as an economic version of Audi 50, it canceled some of the original trinkets of Audi 50 and carried a 0.9L engine with a displacement of only 40 horsepower. In 1981, Volkswagen launched the second-generation Polo, which was modified in appearance compared with the first-generation model, but did not change much in terms of power. the standard version was equipped with 1.1L engine and the high-end version was equipped with 1.3L engine. At the 1994 Paris Motor Show, the third-generation Polo was officially launched, with a similar appearance to the Passat of the same period, and a new hatchback version. In 2002, Volkswagen launched the fourth generation Polo, which was introduced and made by Shanghai Volkswagen in the same year. From then on, domestic consumers began to contact the Polo model, and domestic 1.4L engine was replaced, and then 1.6L engine version was added. At the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, the fifth generation Polo officially launched, this generation of models can hardly find the shadow of the old model, the appearance is more fashionable, at the same time, the size is further lengthened, and the sense of movement is more obvious. The new generation of Polo at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show is basically consistent with overseas models in appearance, built on the Volkswagen MQB platform, and its body size is further larger than that of the previous generation of models, with a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine matching a 5-speed manual or 6-speed manual gearbox.

According to public data, Volkswagen sold more than 14 million POLO vehicles worldwide by 2023, leaving a unique mark on the history of automobile development. Reported that Volkswagen will transform the plant in Pamplona, Spain, continue to produce T-Cross and Taigo, and gradually shift to electric vehicles, focusing on the assembly of two new small pure electric cars, one of which will be sold by Volkswagen (expected to be ID.2), the other will be Skoda brand model.

It is understood that the Volkswagen Polo currently on sale in China is priced at 9.09-124900 yuan, with 1.5L naturally aspirated engine in power, with a maximum power of 110hp and a maximum torque of 141N ·m, matched with a five-speed manual transmission and a five-speed manual self-integrated gearbox. As a traditional small car, Volkswagen Polo has performed poorly in the domestic market under the counter-attack of new energy vehicles, selling 12243 vehicles in the first eight months, ranking sixth among small cars. According to SAIC-Volkswagen's product plan, a new Polo will be launched this year, and the modified Polo will upgrade the front face, LED headlights, electronic handbrake, etc., the overall competitiveness is not obvious, it is expected to be difficult to stimulate sales growth.

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