Canada Getting Base VW Golf Mk8, Will Keep Mk7 Wagons Through 2020

While the United States will only get the go-fast GTI and R versions of the upcoming Golf Mk8, VW has apparently decided to offer the base version, too, in Canada.

It’s not the first time the northern neighbor gets cars that are denied to the U.S.. For instance, the Golf is a much bigger deal for VW Canada than it is for VW USA. In the first seven months of this year, it accounted for about 27 percent of all VW Canada sales, while in the States, the nameplate’s share in the brand’s overall sales is just 10 percent.

So when word got out that VW’s U.S. dealers would not get the base version of the next-gen hatch, the people at VW Canada started worrying. After all, about 71 percent of all Golf sales in the country in the first half of the year were base models.

Also Read: It’s Official: 2020 Volkswagen Golf Mk8 Isn’t Coming To Frankfurt Motor Show

2019 VW Golf SportWagen

That’s why VW Canada insisted on getting the base Golf Mk8. “We put our foot down and said, ‘We do really well with the Golf, and we need this car.’ So the decision has been made that Canada will receive the Golf,” VW Canada spokesman Thomas Tetzlaff told Autonews Canada.

Things are not so simple, however, because the Golf Mk8 will first arrive in Europe and later on in Canada, leaving the local importer with no Golfs in showrooms in the meantime. “We still don’t know exactly when the timing will be for the next generation of the Golf. It’s a very unique situation where the U.S. and Canada are planning things differently,” Tetzlaff explained.

To make sure it has a steady supply until the arrival of the Mk8, VW Canada has adopted an unusual solution: it will stockpile about one year’s worth of 2019 SportWagen and Alltrack wagons to sell in 2020 after production of these variants stops at the end of 2019.

2019 VW Golf Alltrack

The thinking behind this decision is simple. It’s important for VW to continue offering the nameplate in Canada as the compact car switches to the eighth generation, especially since the move to end wagon production had nothing to do with Canada but was driven by low U.S. demand instead.

This will also allow VW Canada to avoid having no wagons in its dealerships for the first time since 1965. Mind you, it’s a temporary solution since it’s debatable whether the Golf Mk8 will get an estate version or not.