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<\/a><\/p>\nBenchmark family hatch to live on in ninth-generation form, with choice of ICE and EV powertrains<\/p>\n
The Volkswagen Golf<\/a> is set to be radically reinvented as an advanced electric car<\/a> when it enters its ninth generation, benefiting from bold new hardware and software technology<\/p>\n The new model, due in 2028 or 2029, will be a key part of a wide-reaching overhaul of Volkswagen<\/a>\u2019s EV line-up that will kick off with the ID 2X later this year<\/a>. The new model will start the brand\u2019s pivot back towards more conventional and familiar styling.<\/p>\n There have been electric variants of previous generations of the Golf, but the new version will be the first engineered purely as an electric car. While that marks a significant step for the Golf, it will retain familiar design cues from the model\u2019s history and be offered with GTI<\/a> and R<\/a> performance variants.<\/p>\n The new Golf will mark the point where Volkswagen\u2019s long-running model names will effectively merge with its ID sub-brand, possibly resulting in the car being called the ID Golf.<\/p>\n The model will also be the culmination of a major reworking of the marque\u2019s electric range, spearheaded by boss Thomas Sch\u00e4fer to make Volkswagen what he refers to as an emotional \u201clove brand\u201d once again.<\/p>\n Before the ID Golf arrives, three new small EVs will be launched to kick-start Volkswagen\u2019s new age. This will begin with the unveiling of the ID 2X compact SUV, which will be closely followed by the production version of the ID 2all hatch<\/a>. Both those models will sit on the Volkswagen Group\u2019s new MEB Entry platform, with the ID 2all positioned as a\u00a0Renault 5<\/a> rival and priced from around \u00a325,000.<\/p>\n The ID 2all will be a similar size to the current Polo<\/a> \u2013 it could yet take that name into production \u2013 and retain styling very similar to that of the concept version, with deliberate nods to classic Volkswagen models.<\/p>\n The ID 2all will also spawn a GTI version, which has\u00a0already been previewed by its own concept. It will bring the classic \u2018everyday performance\u2019 badge to an electric Volkswagen for the first time, replacing the GTX<\/a> brand used by hot ID models to date.<\/p>\n While the firm has yet to outline performance targets for the ID 2all GTI<\/a>, tech chief Kai Gr\u00fcnitz has said the focus will be on developing a model that is fun to drive, rather than simply adding maximum power.<\/p>\n Those two models will then be joined in 2027 by the production version of the ID Every1<\/a>, a \u00a317,000 city car that will in effect succeed the Up<\/a> in Volkswagen\u2019s line-up.<\/p>\n Notably, that model will be the first VW to feature elements of an advanced new software architecture being developed in a joint venture with US EV start-up Rivian<\/a> and which will be key to the development of all the brand\u2019s European models in the future.<\/p>\n The retro-infused designs of the ID 2all and ID Every1 concepts hint at what design chief Andreas Mindt has planned for the ID Golf \u2013 and for future VW models. While the next Golf won\u2019t be an overtly retro design, it will build on traditional Golf design traits. That will be eased by a more regionalised product approach in future, allowing for the Golf to be focused more on European tastes where its heritage is valued.<\/p>\n Mindt recently told Autocar he was already thinking what design elements would be key to the next ID Golf, but he said it would be designed \u201cwithout doing retro\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe have to look forward and not backwards, but our values are important and we should play with our heritage. So many new brands coming to Europe don\u2019t have this, so we need to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what elements would be important for the new model, Mindt said: \u201cYou\u00a0have to stay true to the Golf. Golf is a brand of its own [within Volkswagen], and GTI is another brand within that. Within those brands there are various models you can play with. There\u2019s a lot of nice content you can use for the future of Golf.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, Mindt was part of the design team for the Mk7 Golf<\/a>\u00a0(pictured above), which is regarded as one of the finest in the nameplate\u2019s long history. Mindt admitted that model was a \u201cgood starting point\u201d for his work on the ID Golf, adding: \u201cThe Mk7 is kind of a masterpiece, because it resembles all the best elements from history, but it\u2019s still a fresh design.\u201d<\/p>\n Mindt will also play a key role in the interior overhaul of the next Golf\u2019s design, and he has vowed that all future Volkswagen models will feature physical buttons<\/a> for key controls such as the infotainment volume and heating systems. That will represent a marked contrast from the Mk8 Golf, which was launched with controversial \u2018slider\u2019 controls and haptic steering wheel buttons.<\/p>\n The ID Golf will, as before, be joined by several closely related sibling models from other Volkswagen Group brands, starting with the next-gen Skoda Octavia<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ID Golf is set to arrive in 2028 or 2029. It will be one of the first models in the VW Group to use the new SSP electric platform<\/a>, which in effect fuses elements of the existing MEB mainstream and PPE premium platforms. It is designed to be ultra-flexible through a modular set-upthat allows it to be offered in a wide range of dimensions and with a wide variety of powertrain set-ups and battery sizes.<\/p>\n The SSP platform will also be built around the new Rivian-developed software architecture, which will control the bulk of the systems on the vehicle through a greatly reduced number of processors.<\/p>\n It\u2019s that software set-up that will be key to unlocking the ID Golf\u2019s potential: it is a zonal system that can be adapted based on how much technology each model needs, and it allows for much greater system integration. That means, for example, the ability to blend automatically the optimum mix of friction braking and regen when the driver presses the brake pedal.<\/p>\n It also allows for much greater control over the car\u2019s hardware, including through over-the-air (OTA) updates. For example, Rivian used OTA updates to\u00a0rework the air suspension of its R1T pick-up<\/a>\u00a0(below) to materially alter the vehicle\u2019s ride and handling dynamic.<\/p>\n Speaking about the software platform recently, Gr\u00fcnitz said the real benefit was that it was \u201chighly flexible and highly updateable\u201d. He added: \u201cWith OTA updates I can introduce new functionality to our customers even after they bought the car, without them needing to bring it in for a service. That means it\u2019s really the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n That ability of the software to control the key hardware elements will be crucial to both GTI and R variants of the Golf and ensure they offer performance that will be recognisable to fans of the combustion-engined versions of those models<\/p>\n The GTI is likely to be offered with two-wheel drive to best replicate its established character, and it will doubtless use the software control of systems such as torque vectoring to put B-road handling to the fore. Meanwhile, the R is expected to get all-wheel drive \u2013 probably via a dual-motor set-up \u2013 but with more of a focus on handling than the previous dual-motor GTX models.<\/p>\n The ID Golf will be built at the firm\u2019s main factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the Golf has been produced continuously since it was first launched in 1974. To accommodate that, production of the existing combustion-engined\u00a0model will in 2027 be shifted to Volkswagen\u2019s factory in Mexico, creating space for the production of the new ID Golf to ramp up the following year.<\/p>\n Notably, the current Mk8.5 Golf will be heavily updated and remain on sale alongside the ninth-generation EV. A similar move is being undertaken by Volkswagen Group sibling Porsche<\/a> with the combustion-powered and electric Cayennes<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Europe and the UK the ICE Golf will only be offered in plug-in hybrid form while demand and regulations allow \u2013 currently until 2035, when all new non-EVs will be banned from sale.<\/p>\n The shift to production in Mexico hints that, as with the Beetle before it, the model could remain on sale for longer in countries that are slower on EV uptake.<\/p>\n The ID Golf will also mark the starting point of another revamp of Volkswagen\u2019s EV line-up. It is likely to be followed by an SUV that will serve to succeed the ID 4<\/a>, and it could potentially continue the best-selling Tiguan<\/a> model line.<\/p>\nNew entry-level models to kickstart brand revamp<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nID Golf to get fresh but familiar styling<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nNew tech key to unlocking ID Golf’s potential<\/h2>\n
![\"Rivian](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/reimagining-a-classic-the-all-new-electric-volkswagen-golf-set-to-debut-in-2028-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\nExisting ICE Golf to remain on sale<\/h2>\n
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