Volkswagen is aiming for a full all-electric drive in Europe in 2033, but the latest ICE product will see the light of day long before that historic milestone — in 2025.
Many automotive media today released the sensational news that Volkswagen will part ways with the Golf model and that the current eighth generation is the last. In fact, this is far from news, and it is also not entirely accurate: the head of Volkswagen, Thomas Schaefer, confirmed last autumn in an interview with the British magazine Autocar that there would be no new «hydrocarbon» generation Golf, but in a recent interview with the German edition of Automobilwoche, he said lots of additional information, including company plans for other popular models.
8th generation VW Golf
So, next year, a heavily updated eighth-generation Golf with “hydrocarbon” and hybrid power plants will enter the market, in this form it can stay in service until the end of this decade. Golf will not have the ninth generation with an internal combustion engine, but in 2028 an electric car on the SSP modular platform is expected, which will receive the name Golf (in its “pure” form or in combination with some prefix — for example, ID. Golf). Thus, we can say for sure that the concept electric hatchback Volkswagen ID. The 2all, which will go into production in 2025, is not a replacement for the Golf, but rather a replacement for the Polo. Volkswagen ID. 2all
Regarding the current «hydrocarbon» Polo, Thomas Schaefer did not say anything definite: the fate of this model in Europe depends on the Euro 7 environmental standards, which should come into force in 2025, but the final parameters of Euro 7 have not yet been agreed, because they meet a tough resistance from automakers. If the Euro 7 regulations are approved in their latest version at the moment, the production of subcompact non-premium models with internal combustion engines in Europe will no longer make sense — they will turn out to be too expensive.
Volkswagen ID.7 rendered by Kolesa.ru
This year, Volkswagen will launch the latest «hydrocarbon» generations of the Tiguan and Passat models, with the Passat being introduced in Europe only as a station wagon, and the sedan replacing the Volkswagen ID.7 electric model, which will also debut this year.
In 2024, the second-generation Tayron mid-size “hydrocarbon” crossover will appear (the first generation is known only in China). In 2025, the second-generation T-Roc will see the light — this will be the last completely new Volkswagen model with an internal combustion engine (at least for Europe). Recall that the current “first” T-Roc (in the title photo) has been produced since 2017, last year it overtook the Golf for the first time and became the best-selling Volkswagen model in Europe.
Restyled Volkswagen T-Roc of the first generation
In 2026, the all-electric Tiguan will appear in the VW range, which, by analogy with the future electric Golf, will have some prefix to the name (for example, ID Tiguan), this battery crossover will be based on the upgraded MEB+ platform.
Important disclaimer: Thomas Schäfer allows for a revision of the company's plans if unlikely, but still possible shifts occur in 2026-2027 in the policy of the European Union, as a result of which the current environmental doctrine prevailing over the auto industry will be greatly adjusted. In this case, the «ninth» Golf with internal combustion engines cannot be ruled out. As they say, we'll wait and see.