Volkswagen ID.2 delayed as weaker pollution laws delay Polo’s demise - report
When Volkswagen revealed its ID.2all concept last year, the German carmaker made it clear that its small car future in Europe would be electric.
Polo sized, but with clever battery packaging making it as spacious as a Golf inside, Volkswagen intended to launch the production version in Europe in 2025 with a price tag of 25,000 euro (around R500,000), putting it into contention with higher-spec Polos in that region.
Now various international reports, appearing to originate from German website Auto Motor Und Sport, are stating that wide-scale production of the new “affordable” electric vehicle (EV) will be delayed until at least May 2026.
Interestingly this is apparently due to the revised Euro 7 pollution laws in Europe, which are less punishing towards internal combustion cars, meaning that models like the Polo won’t need extensive modifications to remain on sale in the region.
The delay begs a big question though: is the ID.2 still not a profitable prospect for the company?
The international reports state that although the ID.2 will take a year longer to reach full production, the showroom version will still be revealed in 2025, and limited sales will still take place in that year.
VW design boss Andreas Mindt recently confirmed that a GTI version of the compact hatchback would also be unleashed in 2026.
But what does this all mean for the Polo?
Although it’s unlikely that the Polo will live to see another generation, given the ICE car bans set to come into effect in Europe during the next decade, it could result in the model remaining a volume seller for a little longer than anticipated.
This could even be good news for South Africa’s Kariega plant, given that this facility was due to become Europe’s sole supplier of Polos from around mid-2024 as the Pamplona plant in Spain phases out the compact hatchback in preparation for ID.2 production.
It remains to be seen how the ID.2 delay will affect South Africa’s Polo plant, but it’s likely that we will find out more at VWSA’s media event due to be held in Kariega in early February, which IOL is attending.
The company is also expected to make an announcement about the future compact SUV that it aims to produce later in the second half of this decade as Polo production winds down.
In late November VWSA’s Managing Director Martina Biene said the Polo would not be sold in Europe beyond 2028, and that it would also be discontinued in other markets by 2029.
However the local plant looks set for prolific volumes between now and the end of the decade, and the company aiming to increase Polo production to a record volume of 163,000 units in 2024.