It’s a sad day. Volkswagen has confirmed that the Volkswagen UP’s production has ended, after 12 years. So if you want one, you need to be quick as dealer stock will dry up quickly.
History of the Volkswagen UP
The Volkswagen UP was revealed at the 2011 International Motorshow in Frankfurt in Germany with production starting in December 2011 at the VW Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The Volkswagen UP was built alongside the Skoda Citigo and the SEAT Mii and was part of the New Small Family (NSF) series of models from VAG.
Production of the Skoda Citigo ended in 2020 and the SEAT Mii in 2021, so it was envitable that the VW UP would also end it’s production run.
The original concept model of the UP was based on a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, similar to the Renault Twingo/Smart ForFour, the final design shifted the engine to the front and with front-wheel drive.
Volkswagen UP GTi
In 2016, Volkswagen really made us feel special by introducing the VW UP GTi, this featured a turbocharged 1.0 three-cylinder engine with 113bhp. It drove like a little pocket rocket and could stick to corners as though it was on rails.
Volkswagen E-up
Known locally in Derby as the E-up Duck (Local Slang), the E-up BEV was announced in 2010 with sales to start in 2012.
The original E-up had an 18.7kWh battery offering 99 miles of range, everything on the car was more or less the same as the ICE version of the car.
The 2nd generation of the E-up had a larger 32.3 kWh battery and an increased range of 160 miles. Alongside the E-up Skoda also launched the Skoda Citigo-e iV and SEAT launched the SEAT Mii Electric.
The Future
For the time being, the Volkswagen Polo is the smallest car that Volkswagen offers although the CEO Thomas Schafer did also hint that the VW Polo may face the axe also. In its place a smaller car codenamed the ID.2.
To replace the UP it is anticipated that the Volkswagen ID.1 will be the next ultra-compact electric city car and is set to arrive in the UK in the next 5 years.
More Information
If you would like information on how to buy or lease one of the last UP’s in the UK, please speak to our team on 01332 290173 or use the enquiry form below.
We can also help with short-term solutions for business and personal customers with our car subscriptions, flexible car leases and short-term leasing options.
Or if you’d rather lease over 2/3 years we have our fantastic ‘Find a Car Lease‘ service where we search the market for the very best deals, helping you save time and hopefully some money on your next car lease.
