Volkswagen · 1975–present
Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. As of 2018, six separate generations of the Polo had been produced, usually identified by a "Series" or "Mark" number. Some generations were facelifted midway through production, with the updated versions known unofficially by an addition of the letter F to the mark number, e.g., Mk2F. Some members of the automotive press and some enthusiasts consider the facelifts to be separate models, so have used the unofficial designations Polo Mk1 to Mk7 for previous generations. Each Polo model is also identified by a two- or three-character Volkswagen Group Typ number. Official VW Polo history describes Mark I to Mark IV using either Roman numerals or Arabic numerals, with facelifted variants known as "Phase II" models. The body style has been varied through the life of the car, originally as a hatchback, which derived from the Audi 50. A saloon version was marketed as the Volkswagen Derby. Volkswagen vehicles built on different platforms have carried the Polo nameplate. For example, the Volkswagen Polo Playa hatchback sold in Southern Africa in the late 1990s was a rebadged SEAT Ibiza, which has a different body shell from the Polo Mk3 sold in Europe at the same time. Starting in 1982, Volkswagen sold the Polo in Japan initially through an agreement with Japanese dealership Yanase that specializes in European and North American vehicles. Of all Volkswagens imported into Japan, only the Polo (until 2017) and the Golf (until 1997) complied with Japanese government dimension regulations until the introduction of the VW Up! in 2012.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
UK fuel mix: —. Records from the VCA fuel & emissions archive.
Model years
Generations & variants
Photos
UK vehicles on the road
685,298 licensed and 51,797 SORN (737,095 total) at 2025 Q4.
| Year (latest quarter) | Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 628,120 |
| 2015 | 656,087 |
| 2016 | 686,321 |
| 2017 | 701,229 |
| 2018 | 713,727 |
| 2019 | 720,761 |
| 2020 | 719,134 |
| 2021 | 722,653 |
| 2022 | 724,007 |
| 2023 | 727,625 |
| 2024 | 734,590 |
| 2025 | 737,095 |
DfT/DVLA VEH0120 vehicle licensing statistics, source ↗, Open Government Licence v3.0. Small counts are rounded or suppressed at source.
Sources
- Wikidata / Wikipedia profiles — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/cars/Q30349121CC0 / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_PoloCC BY-SA 4.0 · Intro text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1374194469 · retrieved 2026-10-03
- UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) fuel & emissions data — https://carfueldata.vehicle-certification-agency.gov.uk/Open Government Licence v3.0
- DfT/DVLA VEH0120 licensing statistics — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tablesOpen Government Licence v3.0
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.