Back in March of last year, Volkswagen announced that the Golf, T-Roc, Tiguan and Passat models will receive new generations. That may have been a little premature for the pair of compact hatchbacks and station wagons, as the company’s newly appointed CEO remains cautious about the Golf’s future.
–
In an interview with the German newspaper Welt, Thomas Schäfer said that the decision on the development of the ninth generation model has not yet been taken.
–
The former head of Škoda took over the reins of the main brand of the Volkswagen concern on April 1 this year and questions the future of the Golf model due to the increasing costs associated with the development of cars with internal combustion engines.
–
The exact wording of the Euro 7 standard, valid probably from 2025 at the earliest, is expected to arrive in the coming months, and according to Schäfer, this will raise the prices of a car with an internal combustion engine by 3,000 to 5,000 euros, i.e. by about 74 to 123 thousand crowns. According to him, the end of cars for 10,000 euros, a quarter of a million crowns, may be coming to an end in Europe.
–
Schäfer confirmed that a mid-life facelift of the current Golf is in the works, but the ninth generation is uncertain at the moment. He pointed out that it may not be profitable to build a new car with an internal combustion engine, which is unlikely to have a traditional life cycle of 7-8 years, adding that developing Euro 7 compliant vehicles is “extremely expensive”.
–
The fact that the ninth Golf would not be sold for a full seven to eight years is related to the restriction on the sale of new cars equipped with gasoline or diesel engines, which is to enter into force in the European Union in 2035.
–
The current, eighth generation has been on the market since 2019 and will probably get a facelift in the next two years, so according to previous practices it would be sold for another three to four years.
–
So a potential ninth-generation Golf would arrive around 2027, meaning the demise of the model as we know it today could coincide with the EU’s ban on internal combustion engines. However, some European markets could decide to switch to electric cars earlier, which would in turn affect sales of the Golf.
–
The final decision on whether Volkswagen will launch the ninth Golf will be made in the next 12 months, according to Schäfer.
–
The future therefore does not look rosy even for the VW Polo with an internal combustion engine. Audi, as a brand from the same concern, has already said that it will say goodbye to the mechanically related A1 after this generation, as well as to the compact crossover Q2.
–
|
Take a look at the current offer of new and used cars Volkswagen that Sauto.cz. |
—
