The Volkswagen Up! is officially retired
The mini city car has deserted its last market
In its recent history, Volkswagen has always invested in the mini city car segment, with varying degrees of success. The Lupo was launched in 1998, followed by the Fox in 2003 and the Up! in 2011. The latter was intended to compete with the Citroën C1, Peugeot 107, Toyota Aygo and Renault Twingo. At the time, the strategy was similar to that of the PSA group: to create a triplet of clones with the support of SEAT and Skoda.
Today, this family is no more. The SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo have deserted their respective catalogues due to insufficient sales. The Up! went it alone with an electric version called the e-Up! and an exclusive GTI model that its cousins have never seen. This story is about to come to an end, as the Up! is no longer available in the Netherlands, one of the last countries where it was still sold.
The Up! had a turbulent career as it was taken off the market during the semiconductor crisis before being reintroduced in some countries. It is no longer possible to order or even configure the Up! on the Volkswagen website. The last cars in stock should be sold in the next few weeks at prices that are probably very low.
The mini-city car segment is currently in a state of decline, with a lack of profitability and customers opting for SUVs. The Up! had its moment of glory from 2012 to 2015 and even in 2017 thanks to the facelift that boosted its sales. In its almost twelve-year career, the little Volkswagen has sold 973,584 units, making it one of the most popular small city cars.
