The Volkswagen Polo is one of the most important cars for the German automaker in India. The first generation model dates back to 1975 and today the Polo is in its fifth generation. Available with a range of body styles and engines all over the world, the Polo is assembled in quite a few continents including Asia, Europe and Africa. Volkswagen hasn’t really found much success with the Polo in the Indian market and the vehicle does have a few shortcomings, like below average interior space and noisy 3-cylinder engines.
Volkswagen launched the current generation Polo (Typ 6R, Mark V) in early 2009 and the replacement is due next year. Volkswagen never goes and revolutionalizes the design of its cars, which have evolved over the years. Thus, we could easily render the sixth generation Volkswagen Polo, which is set to borrow styling cues from the recently launched seventh generation Golf. The 2014 Volkswagen Polo is sharper than the current model and will be powered by 1.2-litre 4-cylinder petrol and 1.5-litre 4-cylinder diesel engines.
The next generation Polo will be based on Volkswagen’s new MQB platform, which will enable the German auto giant to reduce weight slightly. The new Polo is expected to have a larger cabin, thereby addressing the issue of poor interior room. The interiors will also evolve on the new Polo and should be rich in quality and features. Volkswagen will manufacture the next generation Polo in India and the company could adopt a very aggressive pricing strategy to gain good market share. However VW needs to work on its service to ensure positive word of mouth from existing customers.
