The Volkswagen Golf and Golf GTI are expected to enter a ninth generation, albeit with electric propulsion, as part of the company’s desire to keep historically significant nameplates. GTI trim might be added to the ID EV lineup. Volkswagen Golf (Gen 8) will be phased out by 2028. The ID.3 EV is not a replacement for the Golf.
Volkswagen president Thomas Schafer told our sister newspaper Autocar UK that the GTI brand will not be retired, and that it might instead form part of a new hot ID line-up, following the regular Volkswagen Golf. The current eighth-generation Golf will be retired around 2027-2028.
The ID naming system, according to Schäfer, is here to stay since purchasers are already familiar with it and link it with electric Volkswagens. However, long-running badges such as the Golf and even the GTI are being considered for continuation into the EV age.
“There is a relationship between VW and ID, and there is no reason to cancel [ID]. Golf and GTI are two well-known brand names. It would be insane to let them perish and disappear. We’ll continue to the ID principle, but iconic models will get names.”
His remarks address a persistent conundrum inside Volkswagen: might there be place in a future line-up of electric vehicles for both a Golf and an ID 3, and would they or would they not merge into one model? In the future, the Golf would sit between the ID 2 and the ID 3.
Schäfer also suggested that the GTX badge, which is now used for all-wheel-drive performance versions of the ID vehicles, will be phased out in the long run, and that GTI and R would re-emerge as the main performance badges in the range.
“GTI with Golf was always renowned,” Schäfer said of the car. We’ll keep going. We need substance as well as performance. We’re working with EV on a performance model to bring GTI forward.”
Schäfer stated that the R badge will continue to be used on all-wheel-drive performance flagship cars. This implies that GTI may be used for two-wheel-drive performance EVs, whereas R could be used for four-wheel-drive ones. While the German brand tried older variants of the Golf in India on several times, the Golf was never sold here. In terms of ID, VW will launch the ID.4 in India maybe next year.
Despite the apparent obstacles faced by 2020, Volkswagen produced over 134,000 electric vehicles and a total of 212,000 electrified vehicles (including hybrids and plug-in hybrids).
Volkswagen plans to produce 800,000 all-electric vehicles this year.
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