Next-gen Volkswagen Polo MQB A0 being considered for India

The Volkswagen Polo has been the top-selling car for the German manufacturer in India. In fact, Volkswagen forayed into India with the Polo being its first product for our markets. Though initially, the hatchback attracted a good number of people to the dealerships and sales flourished, the Polo started to show its age among a set of rivals that were constantly updated, unlike the Polo. Also, while Volkswagen revealed the 6th generation of the Volkswagen Polo back in 2017 internationally, the company didn’t have any plans to bring the car on our shores. All this lead to speculations about the Polo being slowly killed off. However, now it is confirmed that a new generation model of the Polo will be launched here in the coming time.

A report by Carandbike claims the same. According to the report, Volkswagen India has confirmed that it is considering the new-generation model of the Polo for India albeit with a few changes compared to the international model. Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen India, spoke to carandbike on the sidelines of the 10th-anniversary celebrations of the Polo and said,

“It’s(Polo) a wonderful product and is based on the MQB platform which you know we are going to launch the MQB A0 IN platform in India pretty soon. The Polo is a car for India and it’s bound to be a car for India.”

A few months back, the updated BSVI models of the Polo, Vento and the Ameo were spotted testing on the roads but they carried very minute changes apart from the BSVI compliance tech. That hints that the launch of the all-new Polo is still some time away but according to the report, it will happen for sure. The international version of the 6th gen Polo is underpinned by the MQB platform which also underpins several other Volkswagen family vehicles. In India though, the next-generation Polo will be built on the MQB A0 platform which is a low-cost platform developed by the VW group for emerging markets of the world. Other changes may include limited engine options, shorter body dimensions and a barer basic cabin. Speaking about the same, Knapp said,

“Obviously there are some peculiar varieties in the country, so you have the sub-4 metre category and our vehicle (Polo) all over the world is above 4 or 5 metre. So we have to do some engineering changes but rest assured, we are looking at multiple options on that platform and one is definitely the Polo.”

The international spec sixth-generation Volkswagen Polo is actually larger than its predecessor and exceeds 4m in length (4,053 mm to be precise). This means that it will be trimmed slightly before bringing it here to gain the sub-4 metre tax benefits. However, the growth in size also hints towards more space at the rear along with more boot space. Speaking of engine options, Volkswagen may offer the new-gen Polo here with only a petrol engine. This could be the 3-cylinder EA211 turbo petrol unit. A CNG powered variant could also be launched but nothing can be said for sure now.