VW Golf: Is the long-running model threatened with death?

Created: 08/05/2022, 10:00 am

By: Simon Mones

Is the VW Golf threatened with model death?

A facelift for the current generation is in the works, but after that it could be over.

Volkswagen has been building the Golf since 1974.

The eighth generation of the compact car is now rolling off the assembly line and the Wolfsburg-based model range would be unimaginable without it.

No wonder, after all, the Golf is the long-running hit and has regularly taken first place in new registrations for years, but was recently supplanted by the T-Roc.

Both models should - like the Passat and Tiguan - get another generation, VW announced in March.

But the future of the Golf is anything but certain.

No decision has yet been made at Volkswagen's headquarters about the development of the ninth generation of the long-running hit, as brand boss Thomas Schäfer told the world.

The reason for this is likely to be rising costs in the development of cars with combustion engines.

After the facelift of the Golf VIII, VW could discontinue the evergreen.

©Volkswagen

VW Golf: Is the long-running model threatened with death?

The reason for this is the Euro 7 standard, because of which manufacturers are anticipating rising prices for cars with internal combustion engines.

Due to the more complex exhaust gas cleaning, these would each be 3,000 to 5,000 euros more expensive.

“With a small car, these additional costs can hardly be absorbed.

Initial mobility with combustion engines will therefore be significantly more expensive,” explained Schäfer.

Audi has already canceled the A1 and Q2 for this reason.

A similar fate could threaten the Polo and possibly also the Golf.

However, the VW Golf is not yet threatened with model death that quickly.

First, there is a facelift for the eighth generation, which has been available since 2019.

This is in the works and is expected to be launched in 2023 or 2024 and would then be sold for another three to four years to the end of its life cycle.

VW Golf: Decision on ninth generation in the next 12 months

This means that the ninth generation of the VW Golf would not be rolling into car dealerships before 2027.

In view of the growing interest in electric cars and the ban on the sale of combustion engines from 2025, "we will have to see whether it is worth developing a new vehicle that does not last for the full seven or eight years," emphasized Schäfer.

This is "extremely expensive".

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The decision as to whether to develop another generation of the long-running hit or whether to focus on the purely electric alternative such as the ID.3 should be made soon.

"We'll know more in twelve months," said the Volkswagen brand boss.