Volkswagen Polo

New registrations in Europe

3,287,019 new Volkswagen Polo cars registered in the EU, Norway and Iceland between 2010 and 2022, from the European Environment Agency's CO₂ monitoring of every new car. In 2022 the largest markets were Germany (26,345), France (19,504), Italy (12,852).

Averages are weighted by registrations; CO₂ is the type-approval value (NEDC until the WLTP switch). European Environment Agency, CO₂ emissions from new passenger cars · re-use permitted with acknowledgement

Real-world fuel consumption

90,984 Volkswagen Polo cars registered in Europe between 2021 and 2024 report their fuel use through the on-board meter. Petrol versions average 6.3 l/100 km on the road, against 5.5 l/100 km in the official WLTP test — 13% more.

Litres per 100 km: total fuel used divided by total distance driven, from the car's own fuel consumption meter (OBFCM), collected in 2024 by the manufacturers, mostly remotely, and by national authorities. WLTP figures are the type-approval CO₂ values converted to litres. Hybrids, including mild hybrids, do not plug in; plug-in hybrid figures include the distance driven on electricity. European Environment Agency, Real-world CO₂ emissions from cars and vans · CC BY 4.0

What it costs in fuel

On real-world figures the Volkswagen Polo uses 6.3 litres per 100 km, so 15,000 km a year takes about 940 litres: €2,043 at this week's average price in Germany, its largest market in Europe.

Fuel for 15,000 km (9,300 miles) a year at real-world consumption. Pump prices with taxes, week of 19 October 2026: European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin, UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, US Energy Information Administration. Non-euro EU prices are in euros as the Bulletin publishes them.

Generations

The Volkswagen Polo has had 5 generations. Figures cover the model years in each generation's production run.

Generations and production years: Wikidata (CC0). Complaints and recalls: NHTSA, US model years; a recall covering several years is counted once. MOT: DVSA, first tests in Great Britain. Where two generations overlap, a model year counts towards both.

Year by year

New in Europe: registration year (European Environment Agency) · UK: year of manufacture, end of 2025 (DfT/DVLA) · MOT: year of first registration, tests in 2023 (DVSA) · Finland: year of first registration (Traficom) · a year gets its own page when at least three of these cover it

In New Zealand

14,345 Polo cars are on the New Zealand register; 44% arrived as used imports.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

In the Netherlands

292,864 Polo cars are on Dutch roads; 34% arrived later as imports, and 30,219 still have a recall open. Open a year for APK defects, odometer checks and colours.

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles (CC0) · list price is the manufacturer's catalogue price when new

In Finland

31,452 Polo cars were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026: 94% petrol, 6% diesel. Mileage is the odometer reading at the last inspection.

Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use, 30 Jun 2026 · CC BY 4.0

Road collisions in Great Britain

From 2021 to 2025, 12,676 Polo cars were involved in road collisions in Great Britain that injured someone and were reported to the police. 161 of those collisions were fatal and 2,484 caused serious injuries. As with any count, models with more cars on British roads appear more often.

Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data 2021–2025 · Open Government Licence v3.0 · how we count

In the United Kingdom

685,293 Polo cars were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, by year of manufacture.

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124) · Open Government Licence v3.0

MOT test results in Great Britain

624,329 Polo cars took their annual MOT test in 2023; 67% passed first time, against 70% for all cars of the same ages. Older cars fail more often, so compare a year with the same year of other cars.

Why they fail

Share of all first tests that ended in a fail because of each part of the car (one test can fail on several).

DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 (Department for Transport) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · first tests of cars only; a fix made at the test station within the hour still counts as a fail

EU safety alerts

Safety Gate, the European Union's rapid alert system, names the Polo in at least 12 alerts. European versions can differ from the North American car.

Safety Gate (European Commission) · CC0