The mystery vehicle Volkswagen SA plans to add to its production line will be part of the “Polo family” and positioned “below the T-Cross”, but it won’t be as “SUV-ish” as the latter…

The head of Volkswagen Group South Africa has dropped a few more hints about the identity of the mystery 3rd product the German firm plans to build – alongside the Polo hatchback and the Polo Vivo – at its Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape.

In November 2022, VWSA announced an intention to add a new model to its local production line, confirming the vehicle will ride on the same MQB-A0 platform as the Polo and numerous other VW Group products. Now, Martina Biene, chairperson and managing director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, has revealed some fresh information.

Speaking to Cars.co.za video journalist Ciro De Siena during an exclusive podcast interview covering a wide range of topics, Biene confirmed the new model under consideration will feature an internal combustion engine rather than an electrified powertrain.

VWSA’s Eastern Cape facility has produced the Polo since 1996 (Biene pictured 3rd from left).

Biene, who previously held the position of head of the Volkswagen passenger brand in South Africa (from October 2018 to August 2020) before briefly returning to Germany, added production of the newcomer will likely commence in 2026 or “probably 2027”.

“It [will be positioned] below the T-Cross – we call it ‘A0 Entry SUV’ currently. So, it’s an SUV body style but it’s on the Polo platform,” she explained.

When asked whether the 3rd model will be similar in size to the aforementioned T-Cross – which measures 4 235 mm from bow to stern – but offered at a lower price point, Biene simply said: “100 percent”.

“It will not be as SUV-ish as the T-Cross but [will be] more SUV-ish than the Polo. We still need the final tick in the box from [VW’s global headquarters in] Wolfsburg, but we’re planning something like a sneak preview,” she said.

Interestingly, Biene furthermore revealed the vehicle “we are looking at is kind of in partnership with Brazil”, adding many Latin American countries – and, to a certain extent, India as well – have similar market demands to those of South Africa.

The Polo Track debuted in Brazil late in 2022, replacing the long-running Gol.

“Hopefully, when we have the final tick in the box, we’ll get another nice addition to the Polo family,” Biene said.

For the record, Volkswagen Brazil phased out its long-running Gol hatchback towards the end of 2022, replacing it with a new model called the Polo Track. The latter model is described as the “first of a family of compact vehicles in the entry-level segment”.

Late last year, Biene said Kariega’s as-yet-unidentified 3rd product will be “very much shaped for the A0 segment and for South Africa and Africa”, emphasising it will not function as “a replacement for the Polo”. Instead, the mystery model looks likely to fill any production capacity that could potentially be lost once key European markets phase out combustion engines and Polo hatchback exports to the Old Continent start to fall.

Watch the full interview

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