End of the line ?

[MikeDO]

Regarding the Ford Fiesta stopping production next year.

Personally I can't help but think that there is also a profit motif here as well.
Ford have made no bones about the fact that there's a fair bit more profit in the Puma than the Fiesta (just look at the starting prices!).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will (as commented above) be a 2nd mid life face lift for the Polo and maybe a couple of Hail Mary special editions for the Gti variant.

Nothing personally against electric cars. But not totally convinced that they are the answer to all our problems.

[lancslad1985]

I hope there’s a last polo gti special edition before it goes out. I’d certainly get one.

[SRGTD]

Each to their own, but I’ve never felt the urge to buy a special edition or anniversary model. They usually don’t offer much over the equivalent standard model but you pay a price premium over the equivalent standard model to get one.

[Andy D]

' Ford are also dropping the Galaxy '

Also gone is S-max , mondeo and Ka+

A member on one of the other VAG forums had ordered a Focus and was subsequently told that Focus production had been halted. Whether that’s a temporary halt due to supply chain issues or permanent with Ford also pulling the plug on the Focus I don’t know.

Ford certainly seem to be going all out down the EV route.

And the Fiesta come June 2023 !!

[johnpolo2]

I've had 18 years of Polo GTIs, I'll be in mourning when it eventually goes.

[MikeDO]

Each to their own, but I’ve never felt the urge to buy a special edition or anniversary model. They usually don’t offer much over the equivalent standard model but you pay a price premium over the equivalent standard model to get one.

Myself Im thinking more along the lines of a bit more power and a proper LSD. No interest if any special edition was just a paint and decal job.

[SRGTD]

Each to their own, but I’ve never felt the urge to buy a special edition or anniversary model. They usually don’t offer much over the equivalent standard model but you pay a price premium over the equivalent standard model to get one.

Myself Im thinking more along the lines of a bit more power and a proper LSD. No interest if any special edition was just a paint and decal job.

I’d be surprised if VW made mechanical changes for an anniversary or last of the line special edition very near the end of the Polo’s production, especially if there isn’t going to be a next generation car that could benefit from the mechanical changes. Maybe there’d be a tweak to the ECU for a few more bhp, but I doubt there’d be a proper LSD. IMHO with an anniversary / special edition model VW would be likely to focus on making subtle cosmetic changes and add some additional equipment off the options list to the standard spec compared to the normal model to be able to explain - or justify - an ‘enhanced’ list price.

As an example, VW have just released the 20 year anniversary model of the Golf R. Differences to the standard R are;

Performance enhancements;

• an extra 13 ps (333 ps compared to the standard R’s 320 ps) and speed limiter increased to 166 mph

Cosmetic changes;

• blue faced alloys and door mirror caps on cars with white or black paintwork

• ’performance’ tailgate spoiler

• blue coloured ‘R’ badges on front grille and tailgate, some ‘20’ badges on the B pillar trim

• carbon fibre trim insert strip in the door cards and dashboard

• leather seats with electric adjustment for front seats

Basic list price for the anniversary model is £48,095 compared to the standard R model’s list price of £42,695, so you’re paying £5,400 for a 4% power uplift (would you really notice it in normal everyday use on the UK’s congested roads?) and a few cosmetic changes which IMHO is a lot of ££££’s for not very much. I certainly wouldn’t pay £48.1k for a Golf, but then I wouldn’t pay £42.7k for one either.

Back on the subject of EV’s discussed earlier in this thread; interesting but not entirely surprising that following today’s autumn statement from the chancellor, from 2025 EV’s will no longer be exempt from VED. The same £40k list price threshold for the higher additional rate VED is also to apply to EV’s. Bearing in mind a high proportion of EV’s have a list price in excess of £40k, owners of those (£40k+) EV’s who were previously paying £0 VED will be paying both the standard and enhanced VED rates from 2025 which at current prices would mean an annual VED cost of £520 (£165 standard rate plus £355 additional rate) for five years from the second time the vehicle is taxed - thereafter, only the standard VED rate applies.

So now the incentive of zero rate VED is to be removed and EV plug in grant was stopped earlier this year, EV’s may have become a less attractive proposition to some who were considering one as their next car .

[johnpolo2]

The whole rush to EV's is half baked, being pushed by our virtue signalling leaders, they are highly qualified in that.

[lancslad1985]

The tax on EVs was always going to happen. As more people switched over, less road tax was being paid. Like when diesels started being £0 -£30, that was always going to change as well.

Where it hurts is as per SRGTDs comment, most EVs are over £40K with an option or two on. This means a huge hike in road tax for some people. Considering I’m paying extra for the car, getting a charger installed at home, etc, it’s making me think twice when the time comes.

[OomStu_ZA]

With this discussion in mind, if there is to be a Golf 9 (albeit all electric probably) maybe there is hope for a next gen Polo model too:
https://www.cars.co.za/motoring-news/an ... ng/137782/
Martina Biene, freshly appointed as chairperson and managing director of VW Group SA, has confirmed both the Polo and Polo Vivo will continue “beyond 2025”.

[SRGTD]

The tax on EVs was always going to happen. As more people switched over, less road tax was being paid. Like when diesels started being £0 -£30, that was always going to change as well.

Where it hurts is as per SRGTDs comment, most EVs are over £40K with an option or two on. This means a huge hike in road tax for some people. Considering I’m paying extra for the car, getting a charger installed at home, etc, it’s making me think twice when the time comes.

Agree, vehicle excise duty (VED) on EV’s was always going to happen - it was a case of when rather than if. The government needs to make up the VED shortfall that’s arisen out of EV’s being zero VED rated up until now, so yesterday’s announcement in the autumn statement didn’t really come as a surprise.

As more people make the switch to EV’s over the next few years (assuming the VED change doesn’t deter them), then tax revenues on petrol and diesel sales will fall and the government will look for ways to make up the shortfall from that revenue stream. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the introduction of some form of road pricing in the medium term - possibly with a scale of prices linked to the time of day a car is being driven (e.g. higher charges for driving at peak times) or the type of road being used (e.g. higher charges for A roads and motorways than B roads / rural roads).

This discussion thread has gone a bit off topic (apologies, probably my fault ), but subjects such as the transition to EV’s and taxing the motorist are worthy of discussion and probably of interest to many.

[lancslad1985]

I think you’re on topic @SRGTD as it discusses life after the polo. There may not be another after this facelift.

[Andy D]

Car makers have expressed dismay over plans to make electric cars subject to vehicle excise duty, in line with petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles.

And about time to. These things are destined to be one of the biggest polluters ever with millions of tons of rotting batteries with no way to recycle .

They are anything but eco friendly and useless as a long distance vehicle.

[SRGTD]

Car makers have expressed dismay over plans to make electric cars subject to vehicle excise duty, in line with petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles.

And about time to. These things are destined to be one of the biggest polluters ever with millions of tons of rotting batteries with no way to recycle .

They are anything but eco friendly and useless as a long distance vehicle.

Agree, EV’s shouldn’t be exempt from VED.

As for battery recycling; I’m not sure I entirely agree your comment about there being no way to recycle them, and just leaving EV batteries to rot at the end of their useful life would be a nightmare scenario IMHO from an environmental perspective. Whilst recycling might not be straightforward, from what I’ve read, recycling processes and facilities are to be established by some car manufacturers and also by independent companies, so by the time EV batteries reach the end of their useable life, commercial recycling facilities should exist. However, many EV batteries will be able to be repurposed in a second life (e.g. as back up power sources in domestic and industrial applications) before they reach end of life and need recycling, so there are a few years in hand before mass recycling infrastructure and facilities need to be up and running - but being able to recycle these environmentally unfriendly and toxic batteries at end of life is essential IMHO.

EV’s won’t be for everyone in the short to medium term and it’s essential there’s an efficient infrastructure in place to support mass EV ownership. However, like it or not, EV’s seem to have been decided upon as the way forward and battery technology will no doubt continue to evolve. I can remember some of the first generation EV’s having a very poor mileage range - probably no more than 60-70 miles in real world driving. Most current generation EV’s can manage a range of 200+ miles and I dare say over the next few years, battery size will shrink, alternative battery types will be developed (e.g. sodium ion and solid state), range will increase and charge times will reduce, so hopefully many of the concerns over EV ownership such as range, range anxiety, on-street charging and charging times will addressed in the near future.

Interesting times ahead ……..

[MikeDO]

I’d be surprised if VW made mechanical changes for an anniversary or last of the line special edition very near the end of the Polo’s production, especially if there isn’t going to be a next generation car that could benefit from the mechanical changes.....

You are probably right.

But hey... I'm an optimist