Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen's Golf, a representative model for the brand for decades now, might not get a ninth generation. The news might come as a shock, especially in the context of last year's statements made by the former CEO of the brand, which confirmed the successors of the Golf, Passat, T-Roc, and Tiguan.
The new boss of VW, Thomas Schäfer, told German media that the decision to develop the ninth generation of the Golf has not been made yet. Instead, the company official noted that they will decide on the matter within the next twelve months. By fall 2023, VW will have made up its mind on the matter of developing the Mk9 VW Golf.
The new CEO of Volkswagen came from Škoda in April, and the future of the Golf is not jeopardized by his preferences, but because the upcoming Euro 7 emissions norms might make the Golf 9 an expensive affair.
Now, you might say that stricter emissions norms are no surprise, and they are not, but if you think about those and the decisions made by several European countries to stop selling new ICE vehicles by a certain date, things begin to add up.
As Schäfer told the Germans at Welt, adapting a vehicle to Euro 7 will raise its showroom price by EUR 3,000 to 5,000 (ca. $ 3,049-5,083). In the process, as other executives explained, small city cars with internal combustion engines will be killed off, as their price, which revolved around EUR 10,000 (ca. $10,166) or so, could not endure the hike to 13,000 or 15,000 just to stick with Euro 7 regulations.
While the automaker might be able to develop the vehicles, there would be no economic point in doing so, especially in the A-segment, where margins are low, and customers are not willing to pay more for the better emissions norm.
The VW Up! Is as good as dead, and things are not looking great for the VW Polo. Its Audi-branded sibling, the A1, has been confirmed to be killed off after this generation, and its crossover derivative, the Q2, will also be eliminated from the range later.
In the case of the VW Golf, the German marque is known to have kept a rather long production life for this model, which helps the Wolfsburg conglomerate save money in volumes, as well as offset development costs.
The issue with that practice is that the Volkswagen Golf 8.5, which would be the facelift of the ongoing model, would arrive next year or in 2024, and it would be kept on the market for three to four more years.
In 2027, Volkswagen would have to launch the Mk9 VW Golf, if it does decide to do so, but it could only be sold in most European markets by 2035, which would cut it close from the offsetting costs part.
The new CEO of Volkswagen came from Škoda in April, and the future of the Golf is not jeopardized by his preferences, but because the upcoming Euro 7 emissions norms might make the Golf 9 an expensive affair.
Now, you might say that stricter emissions norms are no surprise, and they are not, but if you think about those and the decisions made by several European countries to stop selling new ICE vehicles by a certain date, things begin to add up.
As Schäfer told the Germans at Welt, adapting a vehicle to Euro 7 will raise its showroom price by EUR 3,000 to 5,000 (ca. $ 3,049-5,083). In the process, as other executives explained, small city cars with internal combustion engines will be killed off, as their price, which revolved around EUR 10,000 (ca. $10,166) or so, could not endure the hike to 13,000 or 15,000 just to stick with Euro 7 regulations.
While the automaker might be able to develop the vehicles, there would be no economic point in doing so, especially in the A-segment, where margins are low, and customers are not willing to pay more for the better emissions norm.
The VW Up! Is as good as dead, and things are not looking great for the VW Polo. Its Audi-branded sibling, the A1, has been confirmed to be killed off after this generation, and its crossover derivative, the Q2, will also be eliminated from the range later.
In the case of the VW Golf, the German marque is known to have kept a rather long production life for this model, which helps the Wolfsburg conglomerate save money in volumes, as well as offset development costs.
The issue with that practice is that the Volkswagen Golf 8.5, which would be the facelift of the ongoing model, would arrive next year or in 2024, and it would be kept on the market for three to four more years.
In 2027, Volkswagen would have to launch the Mk9 VW Golf, if it does decide to do so, but it could only be sold in most European markets by 2035, which would cut it close from the offsetting costs part.
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