VW ends Polo output in Spain to prep plant for EV shift

Volkswagen has ended production in Europe of the Polo small car after 40 years to prepare its factory in Pamplona, Spain, to build affordable full-electric small cars.

The Polo remains on sale in Europe, with production now being done by the automaker's factory in Kariega, South Africa.

The Spanish plant will start making two full-electric small SUVs in 2026. VW will get one while the other is for Czech sister brand Skoda, VW said.

Both SUVs will be underpinned by a shortened, front-wheel-drive version of the automaker's EV-only MEB platform. The changes to the MEB platform were done because VW aims to sell the cars at prices closer to those for combustion engine models.

Skoda's version will be called the Epiq and will start at €25,000, the automaker said earlier this year.

Last December VW teased the shape of its version of the car, dubbed the ID2all SUV.

The revised MEB platform will also underpin an electric small hatchback that will be built at in Martorell, Spain, alongside a related model planned for sibling brand Cupra.

The combustion-powered T-Cross and Taigo small SUVs will continue to be made at the Pamplona plant alongside the EV models, VW said.

Polo sales in Europe have declined in recent years as buyers shifted to small SUVs such as the VW T-Roc and T-Cross.

VW sold 90,107 Polos in the first eight months of the year, making it Europe's No. 8-selling small car, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.

Ten years ago, VW sold almost double that number of Polos over the same timeframe, making it Europe's No. 4-selling model overall, according to Automotive News Europe data.  

This year the Dacia Sandero is Europe's best-selling small car and No. 1 overall through August with 183,183 sales, Dataforce figures show. The VW T-Roc small SUV was the third at 143,939, behind the second-placed Golf.

VW manufactured 8.4 million Polos at the Pamplona plant since production started in 1984. The final model to leave the production line in July was a blue Life variant with a 95-hp 1.0-liter TSi engine and a five-speed manual transmission, VW said.

VW's Kariega factory has been building cars for the group since 1951.

It currently makes the Polo and Polo Vivo, which is cheaper than the Polo because it is based on car's previous generation. The Polo Vivo was South Africa's best-selling car through August, according to figures from sales aggregator Bestsellingcarsblog.com.