The Golf is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. A successful model that succeeded the legendary Beetle, the compact will return in 100% electric form for the next generation at the end of the decade.
The best soups are made in old pots. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Golf will have a 100% electric version on its next generation, Volkswagen has confirmed in recent months. Release expected for 2027.
“It makes us very happy because [la Golf] has this design which remains modern. And which will continue with an electric version,” Dorothée Bonassies, director of Volkswagen France, confided to BFM Business.
An electric Golf is not a first. On the previous Golf, the 7, VW marketed an e-Golf between 2014 and 2020 with just under 200 kilometers of autonomy. But the latter had disappeared from the catalog with the ID.3, VW’s electric compact launched at the end of 2019.
The strategy then seemed clear: the ID.3 embodied the electric future desired by the group, the Golf, an iconic model, long a best-seller but aging. Like that old tureen that we can’t bring ourselves to throw away.
The Golf is back among the best sellers
In recent months, the situation seems to have reversed in favor of the Golf. Losing commercial momentum in recent years, compared to SUVs – the Tiguan has become the best-seller at Volkswagen – the former model number 1 in sales in Europe has regained its splendor. So much so that according to data from Dataforce, spotted by the specialist site Carscoop, the Golf could once again become number 1 in Europe in May. A position that VW is working to maintain with the recent restyling of this 8th generation.
Design-wise, the Golf 8 phase 2 remains a Golf. The appearance of a luminous logo – a first for VW – represents the most remarkable stylistic novelty. In the passenger compartment there are big changes with a new 12-inch screen separate from that of the meters, placed on the dashboard. This screen is much more responsive and intuitive thanks to VW’s new in-house developed infotainment system. Named MBI4, it is also in the ID range (100% electric models) and must resolve the bug problems that the brand has suffered from for several years.
Another development: the arrival of new plug-in hybrid engines with 140 kilometers of electric range, according to VW.
Volkswagen is also counting on a price repositioning to attract buyers. The restyled version of the Golf 8 starts at under 30,000 euros (29,990 euros). VW is insisting on a core range (the Style finish with a 1.5 eTSI 116 hp engine) 800 euros cheaper than phase 1. However, this gives a Golf at 38,350 euros, a price that remains high.
Golf, ID.3: “different customers”
With this facelift, the idea for VW’s management is to keep the Golf long enough to make a convincing electric version.
“It has to be a vehicle that corresponds to the values of the Golf. Otherwise, it makes no sense,” Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer told Handelsblatt in February.
The values of the Golf, a versatile car for all uses, are precisely what raises questions for automobile expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. “The Golf is an excellent car. But every car has its time,” explains this professor from the Duisburg-Essen automobile research center, who sees this transition as a step backwards. With an additional question, while ID.3 must also continue:
“From a customer’s perspective, the question is: How credible is an electric Golf?”
“This is aimed at different customers who remain very, very loyal to the Golf,” replies Dorothée Bonassies. “The ID.3 is aimed at other customers, other profiles who are perhaps a little younger, and who want to get started with a different design from Volkswagen.” On the shelf of Volkswagen electric models, historic models and new models will therefore coexist.
