New Volkswagen Polo to come back as an SUV?

Here is an interesting stat for you. Volkswagen India sold over 7,00,000 cars in the Indian market and out of those, over 4,00,000 were the Polo hatchbacks. With over 60% share in the brand's entire sales, the Polo moniker has a great brand recall value in the Indian market and people associate it even today. With no concrete plans to bring back the original Polo, Volkswagen couldn’t stop but figure out ways to bring back the popular moniker, maybe in an entirely new bodystyle. We explore all the possibilities in this article; give it a read to the end.

The Volkswagen Polo

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that behind the facade of German’s premium carmaker having innumerable cars, it was the Polo that established the roots of Volkswagen in the Indian market. Despite having a long run of 12 years in the Indian market, it saw little to no changes in terms of design, which is now referred to as timeless. Among other things, if there is one that doesn’t have anything in common with the term timeless, it has to be Polo’s rather fragile DQ200 DSG transmission, which has received its fair share of criticism too. Finally, after 12 years of run in India, Volkswagen bid adieu to the Polo with the Legend special edition back in 2022.

Also Read: Volkswagen Golf GTI is coming to India — Launch timeline revealed

What’s next for the Polo?

In a recent conversation with ET Auto, Ashish Gupta, brand head of Volkswagen India, ruled out the possibility of bringing the Polo hatchback to the Indian market, citing peculiar sub-4m requirements for the Indian market. Given the original Polo hatchback being ruled out completely, what other options could be explored for a comeback of the Polo moniker? Well, the next option is the Polo GTI—a hot hatch iteration of the standard Polo. Given Volkswagen’s interest in the global lineup for the Indian market, it would be fair to guess the arrival of the Polo GTI in India. If it comes to India, it will be brought to our shores via the CBU route and like in the case of the previous Polo GTI, the costs will be thrown to the roof, making minimal sense for the masses.

Is a Polo SUV a possibility?

Well, yes! There is a big possibility that Volkswagen brings out a sub-compact SUV based on the Skoda Kylaq and calls it the Polo. Interchanging names globally is not a new practice for Volkswagen; the Virtus sedan is called the Polo sedan in South Africa. Hence, if Volkswagen were to bring its own sub-compact SUV based on the Kylaq—which it is yet to confirm—what other better name can it come up with than the Polo. People will associate with the Polo name at a much larger scale than a new name, Tera for example, that’s what Volkswagen’s iteration of the Kylaq is called in the global markets. 

Also Read: New Volkswagen Tera SUV revealed in Brazil ahead of official launch — All details!

However, the talks are at initial stages and there is nothing concrete at this point. We have learned that Volkswagen is actively considering to bring back the Polo, in some shape or form, in order to capitalize on the immersive love and recognition that people have for the most-loved Volkswagen—the Polo.

While the Polo is still far away from making a comeback to India, you can still realise your dream of owning one. Consider choosing from a range of certified used Volkswagen Polo hatchbacks that claim to offer unbeatable value and a hassle-free ownership experience.