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VW to axe Polo three-door and it'll save over £100m

VW is planning to cut its slow-selling Polo three-door from the line-up for the next-generation model

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12 Mar 2015

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The next Volkswagen Polo may only be available as a five-door hatchback, as the VW Group looks to axe models that are no longer in high demand. Speaking at the Volkswagen Group Annual Media Conference in Berlin today, Prof. Dr Martin Winterkorn said: “The market for three-door vehicles in the compact segment is shrinking fast. In light of this, we are intensively checking whether, for example, we will only build a five-door Polo in the future.

• Best superminis to buy now “The effects are significant. They amount to triple-digit millions through lower ramp-up costs and cutting down on the number of components.” Whether that will in turn see the demise of the three-door Golf and Beetle is still to be confirmed – though being based on the MQB platform already considerably reduces production costs. However, Ford only offers a five-door Focus, and Honda does the same with the Civic – hinting that this is decision would be entirely viable in the current market.

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It is however, a sign of how the times are changing. When Audi first launched the A3 back in 1996, it was only available as a three-door. Now, five-door hatchback sales outweigh three-door more than ten to one. In addition to cars and bodystyles, Volkswagen is expected to crunch the numbers on trim levels and optional extras, too. “We will only offer equipment variants that reach an installation rate of more than five per cent,” said Winterkorn. It could signal the end of lengthy option lists, forcing manufacturers to narrow their ranges and offer more kit as standard. Volkswagen currently offers the Polo in eight different variations and with 10 different engines – ranging from the three-door S to the five-door GTI. We’ll learn more about the fate of the three-door Polo in the coming months, but it’s clear the Volkswagen Group has big plans for 2015. Alongside the new Skoda Superb and VW Touran revealed last month, there will be a new SEAT Ibiza and Audi A4, as well as changes to the Porsche 911 and Volkswagen Transporter before the end of the year.

Now read the full review of the new Volkswagen Polo...

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Richard Ingram

Deputy editor

Richard has been part of the team for over a decade. During this time he has covered a huge amount of news and reviews for Auto Express, as well as being the face of Carbuyer and DrivingElectric on Youtube. In his current role as deputy editor, he is now responsible for keeping our content flowing and managing our team of talented writers.