Volkswagen Beetle, Polo 3-door to get axed – report

volkswagen-polo-gti-facelift-0012

In an effort to further slash operational costs, German automaker Volkswagen is mulling the idea of terminating the three-door variant of its Polo hatchback as well as the Beetle. According to Automotive News Europe, demand for the three-door Polo has fallen considerably in Europe, rendering its existence irrelevant.

As Wolfsburg gears up for the launch of the next-generation Polo, due in 2017, the firm is looking to save close to €200 million with this move as part of a master plan to cut a total of €5 billion from overall costs. With the deployment of the MQB platform, VW has not decided if it should engineer it to suit the 3-door Polo.

Beetle 2.0 TSI-06

In addition to that, the Volkswagen Beetle could also be facing the gauntlet as the firm has not confirmed a MQB-based replacement for one of its most popular nameplates. Introduced in 2011, the reboot of the original failed to garner the amount of hype (and sales) as its legendary forefather.

As a result, Volkswagen could very well look to drop the Beetle as soon as the current version gets extinguished from the production line. Further reinforcing its cost-cutting measures, Volkswagen has pulled the plug on its Eos convertible model – with the final model set to roll off the line this May in Portugal.

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Gregory Sze

An “actor” by training, Gregory Sze realised that he has had enough of drama in his life. Following his number one passion (acting was actually number two), he decided to make the jump into the realm of automotive journalism. He appreciates the simple things in life – a simple car with nothing but back-to-basics mechanical engineering and minimal electronics on board.

 

Comments

  • DonkeyKong on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    Sadly, nowhere as reliable as Japanese cars. Perhaps even the Korean cars are more reliable than VW by now. Not even the plain-and-simple 1.6 MPI cars fitted with non-DSG 6-speed autos are free from problems. What’s going on, VW? Sacrificing quality for the sake of quantity just to be the biggest auto manufacturer in the world?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 4
  • Omg,axe the iconic Beetle? =O You will be missed #iconisgone

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 6
  • Herbie53 on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    NOT THE BEETLE!!! D:

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 3
  • spongewai on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    i see many ppl driving Beetle here

    why axe??

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 7
  • Asswipe on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:41 pm

    Well, sell it cheaper then and the sales will shoot up.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 1
  • Josh Ling on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:46 pm

    try to design something more exciting and come up with something more reliable to attract more people to buy, instead of cutting cost here and there lah. in my opinion, the model that seriously needs to be axed more than any other model in VW lineup is the phaeton. i believe with that one axed alone could save VW millions or even billions already.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 3
  • Same L0rrrr on Mar 11, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    Wanna stick with good, affordable famous model? better get a Corolla Altis.

    you won’t go wrong with Toyota.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 32
  • Drift King Kong on Mar 11, 2015 at 4:16 pm

    Honestly, VW is good in styling, handling, performance,safety. But not in reliability.

    If VW can improve their reliability level as TOYOTA. For sure, all model sales definitely shoot up!!
    No need to axe any model!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 8
    • ucantseeme on Mar 12, 2015 at 11:54 am

      I used to think like you where Toyota has good reliability but I experienced myself where my previous Toyota Vios broke down more than the current Volkswagen Golf TSI I’m having now. My Volkswagen Golf TSI went in for clutch replacement earlier in the year and now everything’s seems to be good already. In many aspects u can compare Toyota to Volkswagen at all man, not even reliability.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Danny on Mar 11, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    About time.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  • Perry on Mar 13, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    No tech or no improvement car is more reliable. I guess this everyone wanted like old time 70s.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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