The Volkswagen Polo GTI will be listed on the Chinese car market in May and it will debut at the Beijing Auto Show. It will be the first time Volkswagen sells the Polo GTI in China and it is also the first time the Polo GTI will be made outside Germany, it will be produced locally by the Shanghai-Volkswagen joint venture.

Volkswagen aims at young buyers who want something fast, and that market is indeed growing, well, very fast. Making it locally is a smart move because it will keep the Polo GTI cheap enough.

There is some sad news however, very sad: the Chinese-made Polo GTI will not get the 180hp 1.4 TSI that the European GTI gets, instead it will get a 131hp 1.4 turbo that is also used, among others, in the China-made Volkswagen Lavida. Reason is likely price, Volkswagen doesn’t make the 1.4 TSI in China so it would have to be imported, which would make the Polo GTI too expensive anyway.

Via: Autohome.