Production of the VW Polo has been stopped in Europa at the beginning of July 2024
- Volkswagen announced that it had ended on July 2, 2024 the production in Europa of its B-segment sedan, the Polo,, which dates back to 1975 but has been renewed many times since then.
- This important model in Volkswagen's European range had for a long time floated around 300,000 annual sales (notably between 2005 and 2018), establishing itself as one of the brand's best-selling models in Europe behind the Golf and the Passat. But the development of B-segment SUVs (T-Roc in 2017) had reduced its influence within the carmaker's range. The final blow was delivered by the launch in 2018 of the T-Cross SUV, the same format as the Polo. Polo sales then collapsed, dropping from 300,000 units in 2018 to 170,000 in 2020 and 100,000 in 2023.
- The carmaker did not wait for the Polo's agony, which could have lasted another two or three years, and preferred to stop production of the model at the Pamplona site in Spain at the beginning of summer 2024. Polo sales until the end of the year will be made from stock.
- Volkswagen is doing the same thing as Ford Europe, which a few months ago eliminated its B-segment sedan, the Fiesta, focusing its efforts on the Puma, a B-segment SUV based on the Fiesta. Volkswagen will therefore focus its efforts on its B-segment SUVs such as the T-Cross and the Taigo. But the Polo should have a descendant around 2026, namely the ID2, which will be a battery electric B-segment sedan. We can wonder why the carmaker did not wait until then to stop the Polo.