The best-selling car in Europe in recent years is headed for an uncertain future. A future marked by demanding emissions regulations. The madness unleashed in the European Union regarding the death of the gasoline and diesel engine may be the final blow for this model.
Will there be a new generation of the Volkswagen Golf? It is one of the questions that is on the table and that many followers of the Volkswagen compact have been asking for a considerable time. These are turbulent times in the European automotive industry. The madness unleashed in the European Union due to the transition process to the electric car is leaving numerous corpses on the road. Will Golf be one of them? There are more than enough arguments to be pessimistic.
In recent months we have analyzed in depth what are the main challenges facing Europe’s best-selling car. The Golf has been in recent years the undisputed king of the competitive C-segment and also of the European market as a whole. If we analyze the sales figures we will realize that this situation becomes bizarre at times. And it is that the paradox can occur that the regulations imposed from Brussels are the main cause of the disappearance of the most popular car.
The future of the Volkswagen Golf will be marked by emission standards
Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, threw a real jug of cold water on Golf fans by stating in a recent interview that no decision has yet been made on the development of a new generation. That is, today, the ninth generation of the Golf is in the air. Schäfer has it quite clear. One must be very cautious about the future of certain internal combustion engine cars.
The top leader of the Volkswagen Group questions the future of the Golf due to the increase in costs related to the development of cars equipped with gasoline or diesel engines. The entrance on the scene of the dreaded emission standard Euro 7 It will mark a turning point and, among other things, will further boost the prices of thermal cars. Schäfer speaks of a price increase of up to €5,000.
On the other hand, and no less important, is the fact of the commercial life cycle of a ninth-generation Golf with thermal engines. Schäfer assures that it is really complicated that it can have the traditional life cycle of between 7 and 8 years: “It is extremely expensive to develop cars that comply with Euro 7,” said the senior position of the Volkswagen Group. We must also remember that Europe has decided to end the combustion engine by 2035. The ninth-generation Golf, if it hit the market, would do so sometime between 2027 and 2028. The time frame is very small.
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The challenges of the Volkswagen Golf
The Golf is not only facing an uncertain future. In the present you also have to deal with numerous challenges. The Volkswagen compact hasn’t led car sales in Europe for months for many reasons. Among them is the stock crisis experienced by dealers due to the global shortage of microchips and semiconductors. And as if that were not enough, there is the unstoppable price escalation that, logically, also affects this model. Undoubtedly, and as we have pointed out at the beginning of this article, these are turbulent times.
Schäfer has confirmed that the final decision regarding the future of the Golf will be made in the next 12 months. Volkswagen will wait for all the details about the Euro 7 regulations to be confirmed and, what is equally relevant, there is also expectation of a possible relaxation or extension so that it allows the life of thermal cars to be extended for a few more years.
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