VW Stops Polo Production At Spanish Factory, Gives Space For Two Affordable EV Models

JAKARTA - Volkswagen (VW) has stopped production from a compact Polo hatchback at the Pamplona factory, Spain. It also ended its production in Europe after 40 years of running.

However, the model will still be sold on the blue continent but has now been moved to a homemade facility located in Kariega, South Africa.

The purpose of this German automotive brand is to stop assembling Polo at the Matador country factory in order to build a small electric car at an affordable price.

Launching from Automotive News Europe, Tuesday, September 24, the factory in Spain will begin assembling two small battery-based electric-powered SUVs in 2026 with one model coming from the VW brand and the other from Skolda.

It is likely that both will be supported by a front-wheel drive version with the latest EV-only MEB platform developed by the Volkswagen Group.

From the Skoda brand side, the affordable car will be called Epiq which will be pegged starting from 25,000 euros or equivalent to IDR 421.3 million. Meanwhile, the VW brand itself has leaked an affordable future electric car called the compact ID.2all.

While Polo is no longer produced at a Spanish factory, VW ensures that models such as T-Cross and gasoline-powered Taigo will continue to be built at the facility along with other electric vehicles.

For 40 years, VW has produced 8.4 million Polo at the Pamplona factory. The last unit to leave the production line in July was a blue Life variant with a 1.0 liter TSi engine with a manual transmission of five 95 dk powered accelerations.

Polo sales have decreased in recent years as buyers began switching to small SUVs such as T-Roc and T-Cross.

The manufacturer sold 90,107 units in the first eight months of this year, making it Europe's eighth best-selling small car.

Meanwhile, Dacia Sandero is on the top throne as the best-selling small car in the region with eight months of sales totaling 183,183 units. The VW T-Roc model occupies third place with 143,939 units or behind Golf in second place.