Volkswagen has reportedly ended production of its pint-sized Up hatchback overseas, almost a decade after it departed Australian showrooms.
The Volkswagen Up – a small city hatchback which brought the German auto giant’s build quality into bargain basement end of the new-car market – is no more, according to overseas reports.
UK publication Autocar reports the last-ever Volkswagen Up – badged as the ‘up!’ – recently rolled off the car-maker’s Slovakian production line, ending a 12-year run for the tiny hatchback.
Launched in 2011, the Up replaced the Fox (never sold in Australia) as the brand’s smallest model underneath the long-standing Polo, spearheading Volkswagen’s attempts to build a small car with ‘big car’ build quality.
Sold in Australia between late-2012 and mid-2014, the Volkswagen Up was available as a three- or five-door hatchback and powered by a 1.0-litre three cylinder petrol engine, which delivered 55kW and 95Nm to the front wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.
Volkswagen Up prices locally started from $13,990 plus on-road costs for the three-door and $14,990 plus on-road costs for the five-door – putting it up against the Ford Fiesta, Holden Barina, Kia Rio, Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris.
However, the Up did not sell as well as its rivals, with just 2992 examples sold by Volkswagen across its brief tenure in Australian showrooms.
Australian buyers not only missed out on the option of an automatic Up (launched overseas after its local departure) but also the flagship Up GTI, which harked back to the original Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The Volkswagen Up GTI launched in 2017 and axed earlier this year, with its 85kW/200Nm outputs coming from turbocharged version of the Up’s standard petrol engine, and mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
While it is understood no Up GTIs have been privately imported into Australia from right-hand-drive markets, local YouTube stars Mighty Car Mods are currently converting an Australian-delivered Up to Up GTI specification – using parts sourced from the UK.
An electric Volkswagen Up – badged as the E-up – has also been sold overseas since 2014, while Volkswagen-owned brands Seat and Skoda offered rebadged versions of the hatchback in the Mii and Citigo, respectively.
The post What goes Up must come down: Volkswagen axes its smallest car in Europe appeared first on Drive.
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