Volkswagen is wasting no time moving towards an all-electric future. It currently plans to build 1.5 million electric cars by 2025. The VW ID.4 will soon arrive in the US and its overseas-only cousin, the ID.3 hatchback, is already on sale. Although there have been some serious software issues that still need to be fully resolved, VW's motivation to reinvent itself has never been higher. It now intends to make bold decisions about the future of some long-running models. Take the Polo and Up! small hatchbacks as the latest examples.

According to Automotive News Europe, a VW source who wishes to remain anonymous is claiming both the ID.1 and ID.2 small EVs are in the works and both would ride on a shortened version of the MEB platform. The ID.1 would be about the size of the Up! and the ID.2 is similar to the Polo.

The report adds the ID.2 is further along in the development stages and could go on sale as soon as 2023 and priced from around 20,000 euros, or $23,900 at current exchange rates. The ID.2 could end up using lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells that are less energy-dense than the typical lithium-ion batteries in order to help save money. Like the Up! and Polo, both new ID-branded models are expected to be for Europe only. Battery details regarding the ID.1 are still unknown but it won't arrive until 2025 at the earliest. VW's current plan is to see the ID.1 replace the Up! once it arrives.

The Polo's future is still undecided but even if the ID.2 doesn't replace it right away, it's hard to envision VW selling them both in the long run.

The decision to drop the Polo supermini hatchback, which has been around since 1975, wouldn't entirely be without precedent. Already in the US, the regular Golf has been given the axe, with only the GTI and R high-performance models surviving.

The Polo's departure wouldn't deprive customers in this segment, except for the Polo nameplate itself and a combustion engine. They'd instead be able to buy a far more efficient and modern small hatchback with similar (if not better) performance capabilities and driving fun.