VW’s Top-Selling Golf Still Not Compliant With New WLTP In Germany

Starting this September, cars in the European Union will have to comply with the new WLTP standards (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure). However, only seven of VW’s 14 main model lines have gained regulatory clearance.

Among the vehicles still waiting for the “all-clear” is the German automaker’s top-selling Golf model, which according to VW sales and marketing boss Thomas Zahn, should pass WLTP standards by the end of September.

“The new tests are more cumbersome and take two to three times longer than in the past. Even limited-edition models need to be tested separately. The coming months will be challenging for us,” stated Zahn in a call with journalists earlier this week.

Meanwhile, VW car shipments are expected to slow down in September and October, before accelerating towards the end of the year.

“We expect very strong deliveries in December,” added Zahn, despite the compliance delay.

Financially, these types of delays are expected to cause VW’s profits to drop to around 2 percent in the third quarter of the year, from the 5.5 percent they brought in during the second quarter, as reported by Automotive News Europe.

Overall, Volkswagen seems to have these WLTP delays under control, or at least that’s what analysts at Evercore ISI think. Their deduction comes from the fact that the automaker has yet to resort to discounts in order to boost sales numbers.