No manual Volkswagen Polo GTI... yet

When the highly-anticipated Volkswagen Polo GTI arrives in Australia from August, it will be sold sans manual gearbox.

Although Volkswagen may alienate its devout enthusiast base by only offering a six-speed DSG automatic, the new circa-$30,000 Polo GTI is still expected to sell strongly in Australia and globally when it reaches showrooms.

The 2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI rides on a new platform (MQB), gets loads of new technology and a new powertrain. Indeed, it will ditch the current 1.8-litre turbo (141kW/250Nm) for the Golf GTI's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine (147kW/320Nm), making it the most potent Polo ever.

At the national launch of the of the new Volkswagen Polo in Australia this week, Volkswagen Group Australia's general manager of corporate communications, Paul Pottinger, told motoring.com.au the uptake of manual gearboxes was abating.

However, the reason for the no-show of a manual in the next VW Polo GTI is due to manufacturing issues, not customer inclination.

"Basically it’s a case of none [manual Polo GTIs] being produced at launch time, either here or Europe," said Pottinger.

However, unlike the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, which is fitted exclusively with a dual-clutch auto, there's a chance the Polo GTI might be offered with a stick-shift and three pedals down the track.

VW Australia's comms boss wouldn't unequivocally put the kybosh on a manual gearbox for the new Polo GTI, stating that it could "possibly" be available at a later date. But he stressed that automatics are by far the most popular choice among Aussie buyers.

"The uptake of manuals continues to decline. It's down to 10 per cent on Golf GTI and Golf R. It stood at 30 per cent on the outgoing Polo GTI, which was largely attributable to the manual's greater output.

"The new Polo GTI, however, realises 147kW/320Nm. All that said, we're not ruling it out farther down the line."

Whether there's a manual or not, the new Volkswagen Polo is guaranteed to be a strong-seller in Australia. So much so, we could see a repeat of the massive 12-month wait lists seen in 2011.

Jeff Shafer, Volkswagen Australia's product planning manager for SUVs and passenger cars, told motoring.com.au the Polo GTI will arrive in August but it remains to be seen whether supply matches demand – even without a manual.

"We try to negotiate the best share of production that we can get, and these things can be difficult when a new product is launched," he told motoring.com.au.

"It's new everywhere in the world and everyone is in the same boat in terms of trying to get that production.

"I'm hopeful that we'll have sufficient supply and if the car performs as well as I expect it will, we'll see how we go with supply," said Shafer.