This summer, reports out of Germany suggested the current Volkswagen Golf could be the last as the company focuses on electric vehicles.
However, in an interview with Autocar, Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Thomas Schäfer suggested that’s not the case. As he noted, “We would not let go of the Golf name, no way.”
Schäfer went on to explain, “We have iconic brand names, Golf and GTI. It would be crazy to let them die and slip away.” However, the names might change slightly as “there is a connection with VW and ID,” so the next-generation model could potentially become the “ID. Golf.”
Driven: The 2022 Golf GTI And Golf R Are Hot Hatch Dynamos
Of course, that begs the question of what will happen to the Golf-like ID.3. Schäfer contends there’s room for both models to be sold alongside one another as the ID. 3 has “never been a successor to the Golf, it is more a Golf Plus.” For those unfamiliar with the model, the Golf Plus was a larger MPV-like vehicle that was built between 2004 and 2014, and replaced by the Golf Sportsvan.
As a result, the theoretical ID. Golf could slot beneath the ID. 3, while the ID. Golf GTI and, presumed, ID. Golf R would appeal to enthusiasts. That being said, any such changes are a ways off as Volkswagen is working on a facelifted Golf and the eighth-generation model is expected to remain on sale for five or six more years.
While fans might be dismayed by the thought of an electric Golf GTI, it seems inevitable as the European Union is set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel passenger vehicles starting in 2035. Similar bans are being enacted elsewhere and this is leaving automakers with little choice but to go electric.
