Volkswagen Indaba 2025

Volkswagen Indaba 2025

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The Volkswagen Indaba 2025, which took place at the Volkswagen Manufacturing Plant in Kariega, Eastern Cape, has hosted its second annual conference, proving to be an insightful event. This event reflects on the past year, provides an outlook for 2025, and showcases new and updated vehicles expected from the brand in 2025. While there are additional elements, such as a tour of various facilities within the manufacturing plant, we will focus on the stuff you want to know about.

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Before we jump into which cars we can expect this year, the Volkswagen Plant, which is home to our locally built Volkswagen Polo, hit an all-time production record of 167,084 units built in 2024, of which 131,485 units were exported to Europe and Asia Pacific. This is a massive achievement for the brand, as its previous record was set in 2019 at 108,422 units exported for the year. While boasting this big achievement, VWGA (Volkswagen Group Africa) maintains its cautious optimism and is targeting a total output of 157,476 units for both local and export production this year.

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Now, for the cars that were revealed and what we can expect in 2025.

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Volkswagen Polo Vivo Edition 15

Starting off our list of grand unveilings, we eagerly watched as the covers were peeled off the Volkswagen Polo Vivo Edition 15. As its title suggests, VWGA is celebrating 15 years of the Polo Vivo, a landmark of a proudly South African-built car. The Edition 15 will be a limited-edition offer with only 1,500 units available, and I believe it will be well received by Vivo fans everywhere. The Polo Vivo is clearly a South African vehicle, as its limited edition will feature some distinctive elements that we like to see, the most noticeable of which will be the "Edition 15" decals on both sides, the bonnet, and the rear glass. It also receives a nice set of Edition 15 scuff plates, strengthening the overall feel, and a set of 15-inch bright machined wheels. In addition to that, the Edition 15 receives a black roof, black mirror covers, and gloss black B- and C-pillar covers, which pairs well with its exterior colour offerings: Crystal Ice Blue and Deep Black Pearl.

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Volkswagen T-Cross

SUV fans, this one's for you. The facelifted Volkswagen T-Cross launched last year and, for the most part, has received quite an aesthetically appealing update. For 2025, VWGA (Volkswagen Group Africa) has made the T-Cross lineup more accessible for South Africans by introducing two new models dubbed “Base.” The T-Cross Base, as its name suggests, will fall below the “Life” derivative, which is the current entry point to the nameplate. The T-Cross Base will be available in two options: the T-Cross 1.0 TSI 70kW Manual and the T-Cross 1.0 TSI 85kW DSG. Prices are set at R400,700 and R418,200, respectively.

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Volkswagen Golf 

Then there’s the return of a legend, the Volkswagen Golf. It’s been a hot minute since we last saw a Golf that wasn’t paired to either a GTI or R badge, and it’s quite refreshing. To be honest, I couldn’t think of a better time to reintroduce the nameplate than now with the 8.5 Golf. I say this because the 8.5 Golf has learnt from the mistakes of its predecessors, the 8 GTI and R. But has it applied those learnings? Well, we would have to wait for the launch in Q2 of 2025 to truly find out, but from a visual aspect, it seems to have done the job. It will be interesting to see how much traction the 8.5 Golf will get in Mzansi, a country that is vrrrpha through and through.

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In my opinion, it has the potential to do well. Yes, it’s not the cheapest thing out there, with its “Life” derivative starting from R580,900 and topping off with its “R-Line+” model priced at R688,100, but if you pay attention to its positioning within the not-so-vast list of larger C-segment hatchbacks on offer, the 8.5 Golf finds itself conveniently placed between them all. It’s a little more expensive than the Toyota Corolla but quite a bit more affordable than the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class, which could mean trouble for the bunch as a whole. I will mention, though, with its arrival around the corner, don’t expect the 8.5 GTI or R just yet. The performance-based derivatives are facing fuel quality issues that VWGA are working hard to overcome. Unfortunately, at this point in time, our fuel supply in South Africa isn’t clean enough to meet the standards that the 8.5 GTI and R need to run at, so only time will tell when we see the models on our roads.

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Volkswagen Tayron

In 2024, we welcomed the all-new Volkswagen Tiguan; now, in 2025, the much-anticipated Volkswagen Tayron will have its turn. Upon seeing the Tayron in the metal, it’s quite a sight, and I believe that it could be a well-suited replacement for the Tiguan Allspace. Despite the difference in naming convention from the Tiguan, it was crucial, in my opinion, for the Tayron to stand out from its smaller Tiguan relative to completely rid it of the Allspace association, which it potentially could. The Tayron rolls out with IQ.LIGHT HD matrix headlights and massaging seats among other features, which, off the bat, already makes it an appealing offer. As for its positioning, the Volkswagen Tayron falls in between the VW Tiguan and VW Touareg; it is a 7-seater SUV that serves as “the next step” for families that have outgrown the Tiguan. One aspect that is currently unknown is the engines that will be on offer for the Tayron; these details will be shared closer to its launch, which is set for the second half of 2025.

On top of this list of Volkswagen cars to expect in 2025, the list of commercial vehicles planned for this year was expanded. These will include a facelifted Volkswagen Crafter that will, for the first time, have an 8-speed automatic gearbox on offer; a new Volkswagen Transporter that seems to have received quite the makeover (we didn’t see the bus in the metal); and the Volkswagen Polo Vivo Xpress, which is a Light Delivery Vehicle (LDV) set to make a return in 2025, with the launch planned for the second quarter of the year.

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On the non-car-related side of things, VWGA has also officially welcomed Ducati as the fourth brand under its existing brand portfolio. This became effective on the 1st of January 2025, and what it entails is that VWGA has taken over retail operations as well as the import of Ducati motorcycles, including parts and accessories. This made for interesting news, and I am excited to see how this integration unfolds over the next two years.

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Words: Niki Louw

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