PoloDriver

According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Volkswagen Polo was both the ninth most popular car in the UK during December 2019, and also for the year.

The latest SMMT tallies reveal that 2,715 Polos found new homes during December 2019, while for the year as a whole, a total of 37,453 units of Volkswagen’s small hatchback were registered. The Golf was the most popular car during December 2019, its 4,585 units pushing the 4,168 of the Ford Fiesta into second place.

The small Ford ruled the roost overall, though, with 77,833 registered during the 12 months of 2019, compared with 58,994 of the second-placed Golf. Which for a car which is replaced imminently, is impressive. Volkswagen registered 200,771 cars in 2018, leading to an 8.69 per cent market share.

It was bad news elsewhere, though. Overall UK new car sales were down 2.4 per cent in 2019, the third consecutive year of decline. The lowest total for six years, 2,311,140 new cars were registered last year, although December’s totals were up 3.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.

Other headlines include the rise of battery electric cars – up 144 per cent – while hybrids still dominated the alternative fuel market and were up 17.1 per cent. However, CO2 emissions increased for the third consecutive year, no doubt buoyed by the 2.2 per cent rise in demand for petrol models, and the 21.8 per cent slump in diesel registrations. The top ten most popular new cars in the UK during December 2019 and the overall year (registration figure and position in brackets) were as follows:

1 Volkswagen Golf: 4,585 (58,994, 2nd)

2 Ford Fiesta: 4,168 (77,833, 1st)
3 Mini: 3,985 (41,188, 8th)
4 Ford Kuga: 3,610 (41,671, 7th)
5 BMW 3 Series: 3,527
6 Ford Focus: 3,261 (56,619, 3rd)
7 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 3,050 (53,724, 5th)
8 Other: 2,824
9 Volkswagen Polo: 2,715 (37,453, 9th)
10 Vauxhall Grandland X: 2,566

(The 2019 top ten most popular cars absent from December 2019’s registration figures were the fourth-placed Vauxhall Corsa, the sixth-placed Nissan Qashqai and the tenth-placed Kia Sportage, with 54,239, 52,532 and 34,502 units recorded respectively.)

The Polo has also been named as the ninth most popular searched for car on the Auto Trader website, based on advertisement views. The Polo was searched for 463,548 times according to the Auto Trader UK’s Most Popular Cars 2019 report, which combined a survey of 2,000 UK drivers with search data from advertisement views on the website and companion app to reveal the most popular makes, models and features on the new car market. The Volkswagen Golf topped the list, with a total of 1,307,303 advertisement views, the second consecutive year the VW family hatch has done so.

Record year for Volkswagen South Africa
Once more the Polo Vivo was December 2019’s top-performing model in South Africa, where it topped the passenger car sales charts with 1,779 units. The newest NAAMSA (National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa) figures state that the sixth-generation Polo repeated its second place position from November with 1,410 units sold.

The often-forgotten Polo Sedan (still based on the older fifth-generation model) shifted 532 examples, while 685 T-Cross models found new homes. Volkswagen South Africa celebrated a record 2019 overall, its 161,954 production total a new single-year record for the Uitenhage factory.

The highest volume the plant has achieved since it started manufacturing Volkswagens in 1951, 131,365 Polos left the line, along with 30,589 Polo Vivos for the local market. The Polo Vivo was the best-selling passenger car in the country, too, with 29,619 cars finding new owners. It topped the A0 small car segment with a market share of 24.5 per cent, while the Volkswagen brand as a whole was the country’s leading manufacturer with a 23.4 per cent market share.

The Volkswagen Polo made a welcome return to the UK’s most popular car chart in October. According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Polo ranked ninth in the UK’s top ten registrations rundown.

A total of 2,191 Polos found new homes, just below the 2,547 Tiguans in eighth place. In ninth place overall, 32,257 Polos have been registered in 2019 to date. October’s ranking marks the first time the Polo has returned to the UK’s most popular cars rundown since July.

Even though the seventh-generation Golf is now officially a run-out model due to the unveiling of the new eighth-generation car, the older variants popularity shows no sign of waning. With 3,976 units registered, the Golf makes number three in October’s most popular cars chart, with the Nissan Qashqai and Ford Fiesta above it, in second and first places respectively.

Elsewhere, UK registrations fell 6.7 per cent in October compared to the same month in 2018, but alternatively-fuelled vehicles reached a record 9.9 per cent market share with 14,231 counted. The UK’s top ten most popular new cars during October 2019 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 5,138 (69,702, 1st)
2 Nissan Qashqai: 4,084 (46,569, 6th)

3 Volkswagen Golf: 3,976 (50,468, 3rd)

4 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 3,630 (46,923, 5th)
5 Ford Focus: 3,585 (49,517, 2nd)
6 Ford Kuga: 3,041 (33,848, 8th)
7 Kia Sportage: 2,588 (30,815, 10th)
8 Volkswagen Tiguan: 2,547

9 Volkswagen Polo: 2,191 (32,257, 9th)
10 Range Rover Evoque: 2,134


(The 2019 year-to-date top ten most popular cars absent from October 2019’s registration figures were the fourth-placed Vauxhall Corsa and the seventh-placed Mini, with 49,341 and 34,387 units recorded respectively.)

Polo family reigns in South Africa
The Polo Vivo continued its best-selling run in South Africa, topping the passenger car sales charts with 2,937 cars found new owners. The latest National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) figures state that the sixth-generation Polo was in second place again with 2,098 units sold.

The Polo-based T-Cross registered a tally of 1,132 cars, while 522 of the often-forgotten Polo Sedan rolled out of showrooms. It’s not just new car buyers the Polo is popular with, either. On the South African used car market, the fifth-generation Polo was the most sought-after model according to Auto Trader, with the Polo Vivo two places down the rankings.

Volkswagen South Africa’s Uitenhage factory produced a total of 16,453 vehicles in October, marking a new monthly record for the plant. A total of 140,782 vehicles have been manufactured at the factory during the year-to-date: 92,029 were for export and 60,107 were for the local market.

The Volkswagen Polo increased in popularity during April 2019, and was the seventh most popular car in the UK, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 3,022 Polos were registered in April and its top ten ten chart placing is one position up on March. With a tally of 16,111 Polos registered in so far in 2019, the small Volkswagen is currently – and neatly – seventh in the year-to-date list, too.

Golf and Tiguan also in top ten

Once again, the Volkswagen Golf was in third place for April, moving up once place to second in the year-to-date tally. The Volkswagen Tiguan SUV was one place behind the Polo in eighth in the April set of figures, and the Ford Fiesta again tops both run-downs. The Ford Focus makes up the top three in both lists.

Overall, UK registrations declined again in April. A 4.1 per cent slump to a total of 161,064 units is the second lowest April volume since 2012. In an about turn, the supermini market fell 14.1 per cent, with the small family car segment also suffering a 10.6 per cent loss. Overall, alternatively-fuelled vehicle numbers rose by 12.7 per cent, with petrol electric hybrids the most popular choice. Battery electric cars also grew to 1,517 units, but still only account for 0.9 per cent of the market. Petrol and diesel volumes were down, but not by as significant amounts witnessed in recent months.

The UK’s top ten most popular cars during April 2019 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 5,606 (29,080, 1st)


2 Ford Focus: 9,734 (21,233, 3rd)


3 Volkswagen Golf: 3,953 (21,365, 2nd)

4 Nissan Qashqai: 3,791 (20,211, 6th)

5 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 3,584 (20,216, 5th)

6 Ford Kuga: 3,455 (14,260, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3,022 (16,111 7th)
8 Volkswagen Tiguan: 2,822
9 Vauxhall Corsa: 2,728 (20,735, 4th)

10 Hyundai Tucson: 2,702

(The 2019 year-to-date top ten most popular cars absent from April 2019’s registration figures were the ninth-placed Kia Sportage and the tenth-placed Mini with 13,329 and 13,280 units recorded respectively.)

Polo Vivo atop South African new car chart
Once again, the Polo Vivo reigned supreme at the top of the South African new passenger car registrations chart. The latest NAAMSA South African registration figures point to 2,350 Polo Vivos finding new homes during April, with the sixth-generation Polo’s total at 1,165. A much smaller figure, 235 Polo Sedans were registered in South Africa last month.

Volkswagen Russia has introduced a sports-orientated variant of its Polo Sedan. Based on the face-lifted model introduced in 2015, the Polo GT Sedan takes styling cues from both the current Polo GTI as well as the UK-market Scirocco GTS. The striking four-door is powered by a 123bhp version of Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine, mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG transmission.

Polo GTI styling cues
Externally, the Polo GT Sedan borrows the Polo GTI’s front bumper, fog lights, and honeycomb grille, as well as the UK Polo SE Design’s 16-inch alloy wheels. Other exterior differences over the standard car include a gloss black-painted roof and mirrors, a rear boot spoiler, and a pair of chrome-tipped exhaust pipes. The black and red stripes seen in the released press images are limited to the first 300 cars which are finished in white or silver.

Inside, more sporty touches lift the standard Polo Sedan’s interior. ‘GT’ badges feature on the sill strips, a three-spoke leather steering wheel also wears logo denoting the car’s stature in the Polo Sedan range, while tartan seat upholstery and aluminium sports pedals also bring correlation to the Polo GTI hatchback. Climate control, electric windows all round, and headed front seats are all standard equipment.

Russian-market model
The Polo GT Sedan appear to be a Russian-market only model, and, as far as we understand, there are no plans to introduce similarly-badged models in South Africa or India, where the car wears the Vento name. The GT adds to the already five-strong Polo Sedan range in Russia, which includes Allstar, Conceptline, Trendline, Comfortline, and Highline versions. At the time of writiing, there’s no word on pricing and availability.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

Our friends at Indian Autos Blog have reported that Volkswagen Argentina has launched a revised version of the Polo Sedan, but only with a petrol engine. The Argentina Polo notchback is the same as the revised versions of the Polo Sedan in Russia and South Africa, as well as the Indian-built Volkswagen Vento. In fact, the Argentinian cars roll out of the same Indian plant in Pune where its Vento sister is produced.

1.6-litre, 103bhp engine
Premiered in Buenos Aires earlier in the year, the Polo Sedan for Argentina has a 1.6-litre, 103bhp engine with peak power produced at 5250rpm. Peak torque of 112lb ft (153Nm) of torque comes in at 3750rpm. Both six-speed manual and five-speed automatic gearbox options are available. Manual versions have a top speed of 116mph.

Standard equipment is high and includes ABS, Bluetooth connectivity, climate control, cruise control, dual airbags, electric windows, Isofix child seat mounts and an RCD 320G CD/MP3/USB/SD music system. Fifteen-inch alloy wheels are also fitted. Prices start at ARS 237,600 for the Comfortline manual, and rise to ARS 251,400 for the automatic version.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]