Volkswagen Up! may come here

A production version of the Up! concept cars has just been confirmed for 2011 and all the signs point to a car which will be the right size and price to slide in below the Polo down under. Volkswagen has given few specifics on how the Up! will go from motor show tease to showroom reality, but it has chosen Slovakia as the production site for what is being called the 'New Small Family'. This could mean one car or many to satisfy the needs of the Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda brands. But there will definitely be both three and five-door hatchbacks - at least at first.

Volkswagen Group began its search for a price fighter in 2007 when it unveiled the original Up! concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, complete with a rear-mounted engine. It stretched the idea into a baby people mover a few weeks later at the Tokyo Motor Show. It has now chosen the factory at Bratislava in Slovakia to build the production car, partly because the site already feeds four brands at the same time. "Our team at Volkswagen in Slovakia is ideally prepared to provide the flexibility required for the production of the New Small Family," says the chairman of Volkswagen Group, Dr Martin Winterkorn.

Volkswagen is expected to get the Up! first - if it carries that name, followed by Seat and Skoda. The plans for Australia are just as murky, although Volkswagen says it is keen to get the car. "The Up! is still a concept and they have not confirmed the production car," says Volkswagen Group spokesman, Karl Gehling.

But he admits the 'New Small Family' is being watched closely. "It's something we'll certainly be looking at. It will have to be price competitive but it looks a very promising product to expand our range."