A lot has already been talked about the replacement for the Volkswagen Vento in India. We know that it is slated to arrive in our market towards the end of 2021 and it will be one of most anticipated new launches of the year. However, there weren't any talks of the replacement for the Volkswagen Polo, until now. Reports suggest that Volkswagen could be debuting the next-generation of the Polo in India by the end of this year or early next year. This means that there is highly a Volkswagen Polo 2021 in India. It however wouldn't be the same as the international version, which is already a generation ahead.
The current-gen Volkswagen Polo has been in our market for 10 years and has remained practically unchanged in that time, expect for some visual updates and a new engine under the hood. The Polo that's sold globally (called the Mk 6) is a generation ahead and has been on sale since 2017. However, Volkswagen chose not to bring it to India as the costs would have been too high and in a price sensitive market like India, that certainly wouldn't have worked.
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However, the market has evolved over time and new premium hatchbacks like the new-gen Hyundai i20 - which is priced above INR 11 lakh for its top-spec trim - has shown that people are willing to pay that much amount for what is still a hatchback, as long as it packs some value. It is actually way more expensive than what was previously considered appropriate for the segment. This is what has really given Volkswagen the nod that the market is finally ready for the next-generation of the Polo.
As mentioned before, the India-spec Polo will be different from the model that's sold abroad. Just like the replacement for the Vento, the next-gen Polo will also be based on Volkswagen's MQB-AO-IN platform. Owing to high levels of localization, it will help keep the costs low and improve affordability. The upcoming Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq are also based on the same platform. Volkswagen is really betting high with this new platform and their TSI engines, both of which will spawn a wide range of VW Group cars.
Not much is know about the design and interiors of the next-gen Polo but hopefully, it will be huge step up from the current-gen car. It could actually borrow a lot of the styling elements from the global-spec Polo and that's only a good thing. Under the hood, the Polo will likely continue to be powered by the 1.0L TSI engine with manual and automatic gearbox options. We can't wait to find out how the next-gen Volkswagen Polo turns out for India. It sure has a lot to live up to.
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Volkswagen updates and other four-wheeler news.
[News Source - MotorBeam]
