Polo set for update as Volkswagen plots changes to ID range

With Polo production now exclusively radiating from the Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape, Volkswagen has indicated that it will make substantial revisions to its entire ID range of electric vehicles by 2026, including the unveiling of the delayed ID.2all.

‘Replacement’s arrival

Originally supposed to have replaced the Polo by 2025, the implementation of the less stringent Euro 6e emissions regulations has been cited as the reason for the ID.2all being pushed back to 2026.

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The delay, which has made it possible for Volkswagen to continue with Polo sales until at least the end of the decade, will therefore result in the ID.2all becoming a reality in the same year as the ID.2all SUV that will eventually replace the T-Cross on the Old Continent.

Co-existence of combustion and EV

Announcing the ID revisions, as well as a second facelift for the Polo in 2025, Volkswagen’s Head of Research for Development, Kai Grünitz, said that apart from external updates, a reduction in internal combustion offerings will still take place as it continues to focus on electrification.

Admitting that Wolfsburg won’t abandon the segment entirely as per the slowdown in EV sales in Europe, Grünitz told Britain’s Autocar that sticking with the current combustion engine and electric MEB platforms comes with a considerable up-keep in costs and that possible integration of the latter into the former remains viable.

Stating that the updated ID models will incorporate an appearance that “goes back to where we came from”, Grünitz added that the production ID.2all will usher the changes in with an anticipated debut set for late next year or early 2026.

By comparison, the ID.2all SUV, which will ride on the MEB Entry platform, will be showcased as a pre-production concept at the IAA in Munich in September.

The much speculated GTI version of the ID.2all, the ID. GTI Concept which premiered at the same event in 2023, will now seemingly also go-on sale in 2026 and 2027 with Grünitz telling the publication that Volkswagen’s ideas for it “will surprise”.

Where South Africa fits in

For the moment, neither the ID.2all or ID.2all SUV are destined for South Africa, the former as a result of the Polo, and the latter due to the incoming new SUV that will be produced locally at the facility located in the town previously known as Uitenhage from 2027.

Already unveiled in India by sister brand Skoda as the Kylaq, the newcomer will wear the Tera name in South America and forms part of a joint venture between India, South America and South Africa for a model made for developing markets.

The result of an R4-billion investment into the Kariega plant, the Tera will swap the Kylaq’s Skoda styling language for a Volkswagen appearance derived from the Touareg based on the since released teaser image.

As in India, the Tera will utilise the familiar 1.0 TSI engine, but adjusted to run on bio-ethanol which, as in the Nivus (Taigo) and Virtus (Polo Sedan), will see power increase from 85 kW to 96 kW and torque from 170 Nm to 200 Nm.

As it stands, no details about the South African-market Tera are known, with the same applying to its retention of the moniker or possibly debuting under a different name.

A clearer explanation is, however, expected at Volkswagen’s now annual product Indaba which will take place in February next year.

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