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Volkswagen Isn't Planning to Send the Polo to the U.S.

By William Maley

· 1,548 views

  • Those hoping for Volkswagen's subcompact to arrive in the U.S. will be disappointed by this news.

There was talk a few years back about Volkswagen possibly sending over the next-generation Polo over to the U.S. But it seems those plans have been scrapped.

Speaking with Automotive News at the launch of the sixth-generation Polo, Volkswagen global sales boss, Juergen Stackmann said it doesn't make sense for the automaker to bring it over.

"It doesn't make too much sense for us to bring a car like this, which has the substance of a class higher, into a segment that is so price driven in America," said Stackmann.

Subcompacts are sold in North America mostly on price and high fuel economy figures. In Europe, it is a different story. While price is one key factor for buyers of subcompacts, they are also looking for something that is easy to maneuver in cities and doesn't hurt the wallet when it comes to registering. Buyers in Europe also tend to buy features you would find in bigger vehicles such as adaptive cruise control.

If Volkswagen was to bring the Polo over, it would cost significantly more than its key rivals.  

For the timebeing, Volkswagen will focus on two segments in the U.S. - SUVs and sedans.

"Our strategy for the U.S. will be SUV driven with the Atlas and Tiguan and there are two more coming. And we will also have sedans. That means we will compete in the segments that really make volume and business sense in the U.S."

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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    Mentor

    A Horse With No Name

    Members

    It would just cannibalize sales from the Golf, actually.  Adding models, be they crossovers, trucks, convertibles, or whatever is not always the rational way to build a business.

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    • Grand Master

    G. David Felt

    Members

    Agree, makes no sense to bring this over especially when doing so with an EV model makes more sense.

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    • Collaborator

    daves87rs

    Members

    Kinda sad....I did like the idea of it coming over....as it always had a classic look and was nice to drive.

    That said, wouldn't make sense to have a Polo starting near 20 grand here either.....

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    • Newbie

    Frisky Dingo

    New Member

    Well, duh. There was never any REAL danger of this making it to our market. 

    And sadly, it's probably for the best. As much as I'd love a Polo GTI, there would be to much overlap with the Golf, and the sales numbers probably wouldn't support it. Also, VW NA has shown themselves to be incredibly incompetent at figuring out what trim levels to build, how to equip and price them, etc, etc. They're about to bring out a brand-new Tiguan that even in 38K SEL Premium form won't have ventilated seats. So dumb. Takes it off my potential list of vehicles to replace my wife's Rav4. From what I can tell, the new Arteon won't offer them either.

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    • Like 1
    Mentor

    A Horse With No Name

    Members
    (edited)
    5 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

    Well, duh. There was never any REAL danger of this making it to our market. 

    And sadly, it's probably for the best. As much as I'd love a Polo GTI, there would be to much overlap with the Golf, and the sales numbers probably wouldn't support it. Also, VW NA has shown themselves to be incredibly incompetent at figuring out what trim levels to build, how to equip and price them, etc, etc. They're about to bring out a brand-new Tiguan that even in 38K SEL Premium form won't have ventilated seats. So dumb. Takes it off my potential list of vehicles to replace my wife's Rav4. From what I can tell, the new Arteon won't offer them either.

    I love VW but they are very good at shooting themselves in the foot. Scirocco anyone?

    Edited by A Horse With No Name

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    • Like 1
    Enthusiast

    William Maley

    Editor
    23 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

    Well, duh. There was never any REAL danger of this making it to our market. 

    And sadly, it's probably for the best. As much as I'd love a Polo GTI, there would be to much overlap with the Golf, and the sales numbers probably wouldn't support it. Also, VW NA has shown themselves to be incredibly incompetent at figuring out what trim levels to build, how to equip and price them, etc, etc. They're about to bring out a brand-new Tiguan that even in 38K SEL Premium form won't have ventilated seats. So dumb. Takes it off my potential list of vehicles to replace my wife's Rav4. From what I can tell, the new Arteon won't offer them either.

    2

    I wonder if that would be true a few years back where small vehicles were the rage. I would really like to have a Polo GTI since that is likely all of the vehicle I would need. But as you noted above (and I have bolded), this is one of the things that Volkswagen hasn't figured out and makes some of their vehicles less appealing to me. Hence, I'm ok we don't get the Polo.

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    Veteran

    Robert Hall

    Premium Subscriber

    Yeah, five years ago or so when the Fiesta, Sonic, Versa, Fit etc seemed to be The Next Big Thing, maybe.  Now, not so much..what they need for the US now is a small CUV, maybe Polo based..something below the Tiguan. (from the article it said 2 more are coming--the new Touareg and something below the Tiguan, perhaps? )

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    • Like 1
    Mentor

    smk4565

    Members

    Agreed with Cubical, the Polo wouldn't sell here.  They need a CUV smaller and cheaper than the Tiguan, which I know they have on the way.

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    • Community Regular

    regfootball

    Members

    economic crash, manic tightening of FE regs, and expensive gas made compacts and subcompacts an option just a few years ago.

    Now, economy is decent, and gas is dirt cheap.

    Better to invest resources into keeping the Golf line viable.

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