The Golf is one of Volkswagen’s most iconic models, and the name will live on into the brand’s next-generation of vehicles. After the eighth-generation hatchback sees out its lifecycle, it will be replaced by an all-electric ninth-generation model that will be VW’s first to be based on the SSP platform.
Often seen as the electric alternative to the Golf, the ID.3 is likely to be replaced by the Mk9 Golf, and will start the MEB electric platform’s slow phase out. Its replacement, VW’s second-generation of electric-only vehicle platform, SSP, could make the next Golf one of the most technologically-advanced mass market hatchbacks on sale.
Delayed by software issues, the SSP platform is expected to launch on more premium Audi and Porsche vehicles. Autocar reports that it will only make it into the Mk9 Golf (and, by extension, any VW brand vehicle) by 2028.
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Thanks to its 800v architecture and new VW-designed batteries, EVs based on the platform will be able to go from 10 to 80 percent charge in as little as 12 minutes. SSP is also being designed with autonomous driving and other connected features in mind.
What may intrigue buyers more is that the vehicle architecture is being designed with cost in mind, which means that VW expects the all-electric Golf’s price to be more similar to the Mk8 model than the electric ID.3.
What may intrigue enthusiasts is that since the platform is being developed for Porsche and Audi vehicles, it will also be faster. The VW brand’s boss, Thomas Schäfer, said that the current GTX nameplate is a signal that his company is on its way to an all electric future – one that includes GTI and R branded models.
“You need models that are exciting. R has always been our exciting place. We’ve spent a lot of time and money to get that brand, and we’re not going to give that up,” Schäfer told Autocar. “But we’re only going to call it R if it’s an R in terms of performance, in terms of all-wheel-drive.”
That means that the GTX name will be phased out as the GTI and R badges transition into the EV space. As with the internal combustion Golf, the former badge is likely to be reserved for two-wheel-drive vehicles, while the latter is reserved for all-wheel-drive models.
