Next-gen VW Golf EV design work begins, reveals CEO

After confirming the launch of an all-new Golf EV, Volkswagen has started early design work on the car. That's a new development coming directly from Thomas Schäfer, the CEO of the company. This time around, the Golf EV will be a high-volume car offered widely across Europe and possibly even in other regions.

With a history of five decades, eight generations, and more than 37 million units in cumulative sales, the VW Golf is an icon in the auto industry. In line with its long-term goal of converting no less than 80% of sales in Europe to EVs by 2030 and ending ICE model production by 2032, Volkswagen has begun formulating the course of action for the future of its global bestseller. A company official has reaffirmed that the next-gen VW Golf will be fully electric and won’t look back into the ICE world.

On May 8, at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car Summit in London, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer reaffirmed that an all-new VW Golf EV is in the pipeline, as per a report from CAR. Schäfer was talking about how the SUV hype is showing no signs of decline. When quizzed if that would pose a threat to the Golf’s existence in the future, he said that the Golf is a timeless car and caters to a wide range of customers, from a student to even a CEO.

Speaking further, Schäfer said that launching an all-new Golf with combustion engines won’t be feasible. He revealed that the next-gen VW Golf, whenever it arrives, will be electric. Speaking further, the Volkswagen boss also ruled out the possibility of launching the next-gen Golf EV as ID. Golf. From the proportions to performance, this car will be purely a Golf, so Volkswagen “will only call it Golf,” Schäfer said.

By proportions, it’s obvious that Schäfer was referring to the Golf’s flatter and more space-focused roofline compared to the ID.3. During an interview in April 2023, he had told Automobilwoche that Volkswagen will only launch the next-gen Golf EV when it becomes possible to offer the car with “Golf genes,” mentioning ‘a flatter roof compared to the ID.3” as an example. That was right after he said that the company will “transfer” the iconic Golf name to the electric world.

Volkswagen has started designing the next-gen Golf EV, which is now 100% confirmed will be the only next-gen Golf. Schäfer said at the Future of the Car Summit that the company has created the first design sketches of the future electric compact hatchback, although he didn’t reveal any specific details. Such information may remain closely guarded for a few more years in Walhalla, the top-secret hall at Volkswagen’s design centre in Germany. During the interview with Automobilwoche, Schäfer said that Volkswagen plans to engineer the next-gen Golf EV on the SSP mechatronics platform and thus won’t make it before 2028.

Until the next-gen Golf EV arrives at the end of the decade, Volkswagen will continue relying on the new ID.3, which it refreshed in 2023. Just back on 5 May, the company rolled out a significant upgrade for the car’s Pro S trim. It replaced the 150 kW (204 PS) motor with a 170 kW unit, the 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system with a 12.9-inch unit featuring ChatGPT, the instrument cluster housing-mounted gear selector with a steering column switch-type gear selector, and the non-illuminated touch sliders with new ones featuring backlighting.

carmagazine.co.uk, automobilwoche.de (in German)