Both specs currently co-exist to suit different fuel sulphur contents in different markets. Again, 502 is not a "minimum" or "lesser" spec. 502 is the current VW high SAPS spec. 504 is the current low SAPS spec. Low SAPS does not last as long before going acidic when used with high sulphur fuel. For this reason, low SAPS oil is for some countries and high SAPS oil is for other countries depending on their fuel standards.
Oil companies generally offer just two main types of oil. Low and high SAPS. They are not "older" and "newer" and certainly not "minimum" and "better". High SAPS is VW 502, MB 229.5, BMW LL-01 and generally the one product covers all of these for any given viscosity. Low SAPS is VW 504, MB229.51, BMW LL-04 and again generally one product covers all of these for any given viscosity. They are all current oil specs. Note BMW and Merc clearly say do not use their low SAPS oil in petrol engines in Australia. Volkswagen do as well but they are more vague about the wording of it.
The person asking not only has the factory fill engine bay sticker say to use 502 but also like all the others, the owner's manual too.
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