The current, eighth generation of Volkswagen Golf is declared as the last «hydrocarbon» one, the next Golf will be fully electric, and, most likely, the eighth and ninth generations of the model will be produced in parallel for quite a long time.
The eighth generation Volkswagen Golf debuted in 2019 and underwent a restyling at the beginning of this year. Considering that almost the entire technical basis, including the power structure of the body and the MQB platform, the «eighth» Golf inherited from its seventh generation predecessor, we can say that the model traces its lineage back to 2012.
Last fall, the ninth-generation Golf was officially announced, expected around 2028 and will be offered only with electric powertrains. A year ago, it was assumed that the «eighth» Golf would remain in service until 2027 inclusive, after which it would pass the baton to its electric successor, but the global slowdown in demand for electric vehicles that began last year confused all of Volkswagen's plans and forced the company to extend the life of key «hydrocarbon» models, including the eighth-generation Golf.
Production of the updated eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf at the company's main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 1/6 
Production of the updated eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf at the company's main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 2/6 
Production of the updated eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf at the company's main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 3/6 
Production of the updated eighth generation Volkswagen Golf at the company's main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 4/6 
Production of the updated eighth generation Volkswagen Golf at the company’s main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 5/6 
Production of the updated eighth generation Volkswagen Golf at the company’s main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. 6/6
The Dutch version of Top Gear magazine reports, citing Kai Grunitz, responsible for technical development of the Volkswagen brand, that the «eighth» Golf could remain in service until 2035, when a ban on the sale of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with internal combustion engines comes into force in Europe. Only some force majeure circumstances or new difficult-to-fulfill requirements of the European authorities — for example, in the field of cybersecurity — could prevent the «eighth» Golf from surviving until 2035. If the MQB platform cannot be adapted to such requirements at an acceptable cost, then the «eighth» Golf will have to be discontinued.
Meanwhile, the ban on new cars with internal combustion engines after 2035, which is considered a done deal, may in fact be postponed, softened, or even cancelled as a result of, so to speak, a clash between bureaucratic zeal and reality. For now, the slowdown in demand for electric cars seems like a temporary nuisance and a misunderstanding to the authorities and representatives of the auto business, who fervently believe in the inevitable victory of everything electric over everything «hydrocarbon» — let's see what they say in a year or two if the electric vehicle expansion continues to stall.
Updated Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation
The Volkswagen Golf is still in very high demand in Europe, although it lost its bestseller status back in 2022. Fresh data from JATO Dynamics for the first half of 2024, which we analyzed in a separate note, shows that the Golf is now second only to the budget hatchback Dacia Sandero in the list of the most popular models in Europe: from January to June of this year, 126,993 and 143,596 units were sold. . accordingly.
Volkswagen ID.3
Add that five years ago, together with the “eighth” The Volkswagen ID.3 electric hatchback made its debut as a Golf — the management of the German concern seriously hoped that it would become the brand's new bestseller, but its potential turned out to be greatly overestimated; the electric ID.3 is still very far from the popularity of the Golf: in the first half of 2024, only 29,136 units were sold ., and Golf sales are growing, and ID.3 sales are falling. The public did not like the single-volume form factor of the ID.3; the car looked bulky, so, in fact, the company decided to develop an electric “ninth” Golf with a more digestible design.