All thanks to easing emission standards
The Volkswagen Polo could be on sale for another five years thanks to a relaxation of EU emissions legislation. Initial proposals for Euro 7 emissions standards, due to be introduced this year, were expected to bury Volkswagen's hit because the cost of bringing it into compliance would have eroded its profitability.
In 2022, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer told Autocar that «there is no point in using very small cars once Euro 7 is approved», because he estimates that new rules would add to value «3000, 4000 or 5000 pounds sterling or more».
However, these rules were greatly relaxed last year by European lawmakers in response to widespread criticism from the auto industry over the additional development and homologation costs they would incur. The revised EU6e ruleset is, according to Schaefer, «not as crazy as originally intended», and as a result «Polo will continue to exist».
The new regulations, which come into force on 1 September 2024, impose the same emissions limits on cars and vans as EU6 regulations and therefore have little impact on the Polo's homologation costs. Thus, according to Schaefer, the Renault Clio rival could survive «definitely until the end of this decade».
«We will keep it up to date, — he said, hinting at a significant round of upgrades in the medium term. — The car drives well. This is a good starting point for entering the brand».
Polo currently costs from £20,700 in entry-level Life trim, which is around £445 more than the closely related Skoda Fabia and around £3,000 more than the Clio, but it remains by far the cheapest model in the Volkswagen family.