• Volkswagen is reportedly looking to move Golf production out of Germany and could build it in Mexico.
  • The Golf has always been built in Germany but has higher labor costs and smaller margins than an equivalent SUV.
  • VW will debut an ID.Golf EV in 2028 but today’s combustion version could soldier on until 2035.

The Beetle was the world’s most popular new VW for decades, but when buyers in Europe and America shifted their affections to the more modern Golf, VW axed German production and exported Mexican-built Bugs to those markets. Now, almost 50 years later the Golf could be about to experience a similar exodus from its homeland to Mexico in response to its own fading popularity.

A report from Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper claims VW is looking to move Golf production out of Germany, potentially to Mexico, where it already has a plant. Another option closer to home also under consideration is Poland.

Related: Today’s ICE-Powered VW Golf Might Have 10 Years Left In The Tank

Although the Golf is one of VW’s biggest icons and the company’s marketing department made a big song and dance about the model’s 50th anniversary in 2024, it’s no longer the force it once was. For years the Golf was Europe’s best-selling car, but while it’s enjoying a resurgence at the minute, the hatch has been outperformed in multiple seasons by several other vehicles, including the Dacia Sandero and the VW’s own T-Roc SUV.

The Golf’s problem is that VW SUVs enjoy higher margins than the simple hatch (and wagon), a problem compounded by the higher labor costs that come with building in Germany. Moving Golf production abroad could save VW cash at a time when every cent counts.

But which Golf? Handelsblatt’s sources say VW’s new compact EV, provisionally titled ID.Golf, due in 2028 and built around a new front-wheel drive electric platform, will be the first EV to be built at the flagship Wolfsburg plant. But today’s Mk8.5 combustion Golf is expected to soldier on alongside the compact EV for years, perhaps even to 2035, R&D boss Kai Grüntz told Top Gear NL. And it’s that model that will be shuffled off to a less expensive build location.

In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
Golfs have been built at Wolfsburg for 50 years

Producing the Golf in Mexico could prove problematic in terms of US exports if President Trump sticks to his promise to slap 20 percent import tariffs on cars coming to the US from south of the border. VW could move production of some Mexico-built models to its US plant but the Golf is unlikely to warrant that investment. The automaker only offers GTI and R versions in the US and Marklines says the 11,000 sold annually make up just 3 percent of global Golf output.

Discussions by VW’s supervisory board about the future of the Golf’s Wolfsburg plant and other sites were due to take place in November, according to the same report, but have been delayed because of strike action and negotiations with the works council.

In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico
In Echoes Of Beetle, VW Might Move Golf Production To Mexico