The beloved hatchback is falling out of favor. Volkswagen is shifting Golf manufacturing to Mexico as demand for the present gas-powered mannequin sinks. The upcoming EV model will substitute it in Germany alongside a brand new electrical SUV.
Volkswagen Golf demand sinks forward of EV model
“The Golf should go to Mexico!” Volkswagen’s works council chairman, Daniela Cavallo, warned this week. In response to a press release posted on VW’s intranet, considered by Reuters, Cavalla mentioned, “The pattern is unstoppable.”
Golf manufacturing has drastically fallen off over the previous few years. A graph from the works council confirmed Volkswagen constructed simply over 300,000 Golf fashions final yr, a big distinction from over 1,000,000 in 2025. This yr, the corporate plans to construct simply 250,000 models.
Volkswagen is present process a serious restructuring at its Wolfsburg plant in Germany, the place the vast majority of Golf manufacturing relies. Nevertheless, that can quickly change.
Manufacturing of the present gas-powered Golf might be relocated to Mexico from 2027, whereas the EV model will substitute it in Wolfsburg, alongside an electrical successor to the T-Roc SUV
Throughout the transition, the plant might shift to a four-day work week. “From 2027 onwards, a short lived four-day week is just not an unreasonable situation,” Cavallo instructed plant staff on Wednesday.
Volkswagen’s HR head, Gunnar Kilian, added that the corporate plans to chop 35,000 jobs in Germany by the tip of the last decade. Over 20,000 have agreed to finish their contracts early.
Following the manufacturing model of the ID.EVERY1, Volkswagen’s entry-level EV, the electrical Golf, would be the firm’s second electrical car based mostly on Rivian’s electrical structure and software program stack.
Volkswagen’s tech boss, Kai Grunitz, confirmed earlier this yr that “The ID 1 would be the very first car with that structure and would be the frontrunner on our facet for the ID Golf.”
In response to Autocar, the electrical Golf can even be one of many first autos constructed on VW’s new SSP platform. The 800V structure guarantees to considerably enhance charging occasions and effectivity.
Volkswagen is predicted to launch the EV variant, the “ID Golf,” in 2028. It is going to be constructed at VW’s Wolfsburg plant alongside the electrical T-Roc successor.
