For months it has been speculated that the classic car VW Golf, currently in its eighth generation, could not have a direct successor. This question arose in view of Volkswagen’s timetable, in which the end of the combustion engine is scheduled for 2033. Now Thomas Schäfer, brand manager for VW, has clearly said that his company is planning some kind of compromise.
After facelift until 2030 at the latest
In an interview with the industry newspaper Automobilwoche, he said that Volkswagen will subject the 2024 generation presented in 2019 to a “major product upgrade”, but then phase it out “by the end of the decade”. Schäfer also said – hardly surprisingly – that Volkswagen could launch a new vehicle if “the world develops very differently than expected by 2026 or 2027”.
“Golf” should continue to exist as a brand
The “Golf” brand should remain, but in a form that still has no recognizable contours and then, of course, with an electric drive. There must have been more DNA from the then revolutionary Beetle successor from 1974 than, for example, from the VW ID.2, which Volkswagen therefore did not call “Golf”. But that can only be expected as soon as the technical basis “SSP” for Volkswagen’s upcoming electric cars is ready, probably not before 2028.
A future Golf will have an electric drive
Volkswagen has announced ten new electric car models that the group intends to launch by 2026. The closest thing to the folksy substance of the VW Golf – in the opinion of the brand management, however, apparently not close enough to its spirit and appearance – is the compact car ID.2all planned for 2025, which should cost less than 25,000 euros.
(fpi)
