The current generation of Volkswagen may be the last. This sentence has been recited by senior executives of the concern for the past three years quite consistently as if it were a message page. However, the German company is not in a hurry to give up its bestseller without one last fight. These days, the economic feasibility of the Golf with conventional engines is being re-evaluated and they want to give it an extension of time and are examining how to continue its existence against the Euro-7 standards and at the same time to the meteoric rise of the electric vehicle.
The head of the new brand, Thomas Schaffer, spoke about the controversies in the ranks of the concern in an interview with the German magazine Welt, where he explained that internal combustion vehicles will become more expensive by 3-5,000 euros due to the complex system involved in treating the air pollution of the traditional engines. “These additional costs can hardly be absorbed by a compact car. So basic mobility with internal combustion engines will become significantly more expensive. 10,000 euro cars simply will no longer exist in the future. Private mobility is a fundamental need and must remain accessible in the future as well. The solution lies only in electricity” .
Schafer leaves a small slot for a new generation of Volkswagen Golf, which last year, with 205,408 units, was the best-selling car in Europe. “We will have to consider whether it is worthwhile to develop another generation that will not last for the whole seven or eight years,” said the German manager. Shaffer emphasizes how it would be unprofitable to put a car on the market that cannot guarantee an adequate duration or full tenure in terms of a family car. Volkswagen is currently working on an update of the current Golf 8 and it has not yet been decided whether a Golf 9 will be launched: “We will know more in 12 months,” says an executive in Wolfsburg.
Shafer announced that starting in 2025, the Volkswagen Group intends to market four electric models. In addition to the ID.2, another Volkswagen, Skoda and Copra model will arrive with unique markings only for them. “We currently plan to market the ID.2 for less than 25,000 euros. In three years, that will be a very attractive price for an electric vehicle,” said Schaefer. The range of the vehicles will be at least 350-400 kilometers. This is the psychological selling threshold at the moment.”