ID Polo: VW’s next 50 years?

Our seasoned contributor travelled to Munich to witness the global debut of the near-production-ready ID Polo – the new, electric iteration of the Wolfsburg-based brand’s Kariega-built compact hatchback, which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.

Maya Angelou once wrote that “you can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been”. It’s with this in mind that I twist the Polo Mk 1’s ignition key to “Off” and let its little heart settle.

I’m in Germany to attend the IAA Mobility as a guest of Volkswagen, and I’ve just spent an hour behind the wheel of the original VW Polo – a 1975 Luxury variant with a 1.0-litre engine that produces a plucky 29 kW while slowly transferring the tree-lined country road from the windscreen to the rearview mirror.

I won’t get waylaid on sentimentality, but I will say that everyday motoring should never lose this feeling.

VW Group Africa marks half a century of the Polo

2025 is a momentous year for the Polo. Volkswagen recently released the 50 Years of an Icon: Polo Project Drift video to celebrate 5 decades of the model and its various iterations; it showcases the talent of 7-time FIA World Rallycross Champion and 2-time Gymkhana Grid Champion Johan Kristoffersson and was filmed in and around Nelson Mandela Bay, including at VW Group Africa’s Kariega assembly plant.

Opening with scenes from the Port of Gqeberha and featuring a high-speed tour of the VW factory, the video shows off various Polo models, including the Polo R WRC, the Polo R Supercar in a Harlequin livery selected by fans, the electric Polo RX1e, and even the Polo GTI, which is only built in South Africa. There is also a cameo by the ID Polo concept, which will be the newest, all-electric member of the Polo family.

ID Polo debuts at IAA Mobility

Under the glaring lamps of IAA Mobility, there is an acreage of automotive metal, much of which is electrified and undoubtedly clever, but in my opinion, also hamstrung by a lack of identity – many of the cars are amorphous blobs that have been wind-tunnelled into the same slippery, but uninspired, profile.

And then there’s the ID Polo – it looks immediately familiar and serves as a link between VW’s analogue past and digital future. Beyond it sits the ID Polo GTI, the heated-up version that serves as a promise to the people that Wolfsburg won’t forget us – the brand respects the connection we crave with our cars. 

See also: Volkswagen GTI – How it started vs how it’s going

Volkswagen AG’s forecasts predict that the electric small car segment in Europe will grow approximately fourfold over the next 8 years. Naturally, the Wolfsburg-based brand wants to secure a large part of that market with its Brand Group Core platform, which will underpin Volkswagen, Seat, and Skoda models.

A sizable percentage will hinge on the success of their own ID Cross small crossover concept car, also revealed in Munich, and representing an ever-burgeoning segment, in Europe as in South Africa.

But how the iconic Polo evolves as an ID car is what’s all-important here… We are already fans of the fact that VW has reverted to names over numbers and can imagine a portfolio where every model has an ID derivative (like the Cross now has), and inevitably, so there will be an ID Golf, ID Tiguan and so on.

VW describes the ID Polo as a “near-production-ready concept car” and indeed, despite the coy attempt at camouflage liveries, there’s no identity crisis whatsoever. The 4053 mm by 1816 mm (and 1530 mm tall) compact hatchback has a purposeful foursquare stance that looks ready to roll into showrooms.

It’s based on an advanced MEB platform dubbed MEB+, and its design language is called Pure Positive. The ID Polo is undergoing final testing, and you can expect the vinyl wraps to come off in May, followed by a market launch in the 3rd quarter of 2026. The reveal date for the GTI variant is yet to be announced.

The ID Polo will be equipped with 2 battery sizes and 3 power outputs. The most potent of these will be reserved for the GTI at 166 kW, seen here wearing Continental rubber on its ludicrous 19-inch alloys.

Also, an array of features will make their way down from VW’s larger models to the upcoming ID Polo. These will include the Travel Assist package (think lane detection and keeping assist, a 360-degree-view camera system and park assist plus), as well as a host of new safety technologies and comfort features. 

Will we get left behind?

No, the ID Polo won’t replace the Polo Mk 6. While VW’s Pure Positive language design is limited to the electrified Polo, the upcoming model will live alongside the current internal combustion-engined Polo.

Sadly, while the ID Polo’s enviably projected sticker price of EUR 25 000 will have the European buyers salivating, the fact that new EVs remain subject to heightened taxation by our Government means that by the time that it arrives in Mzansi, it will essentially retail as a luxury vehicle, where, ironically, it will have to appeal to enthusiasts. And for those who are even more invested in the badge, there’ll be a GTI too.

Find a new/used Volkswagen listed for sale in South Africa

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