Whither the future of the Polo?
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 5:19 pm
Just thought I'd share a little insight with you guys...
As most of you will probably realise, the Polo is due to be replaced in 2008 with a taller, more mini-MPI shell. This might result in VW taking a simialr strategy to Fiat with its introduction of the Punto Grande, but we'll have to wait and see if a traditional supermini varient of the Polo will continue to exist in the future.
With the above in mind, I thought the following text (my emphasis) in the following Autoweek article may shed some light on the possible future of the Polo:
Deek.
As most of you will probably realise, the Polo is due to be replaced in 2008 with a taller, more mini-MPI shell. This might result in VW taking a simialr strategy to Fiat with its introduction of the Punto Grande, but we'll have to wait and see if a traditional supermini varient of the Polo will continue to exist in the future.
With the above in mind, I thought the following text (my emphasis) in the following Autoweek article may shed some light on the possible future of the Polo:
Still, at least the Sirocco's definately coming, even if all mention of the Concept R has fallen of the face of the planet in recent months...Volkswagen will pull niche vehicles out of its "hat" with new future product blueprint
MUNICH, Germany -- Volkswagen brand Chairman Wolfgang Bernhard has borrowed from his days at the Chrysler group to create a future product blueprint for VW.
Internally, the plan is called "HUT" a German word that means hat. It refers to VW's initiative to place a unique exterior, or hat, over vehicles that share underpinnings. Clever
The strategy is "to offer different models with a single change of the sides and roof parts, without changing platforms," Emilio Saenz, managing director of VW's Autoeuropa assembly plant in Portugal, told Automotive News Europe, a sister publication to Automotive News.
Autoeuropa is a leading candidate to produce VW's niche vehicles, sources say.
In the next three years, VW will launch as many as 10 vehicles that either will be based on derivatives of current cars or will be niche models.
The first vehicles using the Hut plan will be "Cross" versions of current models that will offer distinct styling and unique engines but similar underpinnings as mainstream models. The first example, a Cross Polo, will be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in February, followed by the Cross Golf Plus in July and Cross Fox later next year. All Cross versions will have styling that is different from mainstream models and meant to attract younger buyers.
Among planned niche vehicles are a Golf-based coupe called the Scirocco, due in 2008, and a four-door coupe-style vehicle based on the Passat that will be similar to the Mercedes-Benz CLS. The Passat coupe should be in showrooms by 2009.
Bernhard expects these benefits from the Hut strategy:
>> VW will no longer rely so heavily on core vehicles such as the Golf and Polo.
>> The carmaker can expand its lineup while keeping costs under control.
Bernhard took charge of the VW brand on May 1. He quickly realized that one of the automaker's most pressing problems in the next three years will be a lack of new high-volume models. "We have the wind in our face, and we will get no help from volume launches," Bernhard said during an analyst call in July.
VW launched its fifth-generation Golf in fall 2003. The sixth-generation Passat went on sale last March, and the fifth-generation Jetta went on sale in June.
Deek.
