The popular hatchback is becoming less popular. Due to declining demand for the current gas-powered Golf model, Volkswagen is shifting manufacture to Mexico. Along with a new electric SUV, the next EV variant will take its position in Germany.
Demand for the VW Golf declines before the EV version
“Mexico is where the golf must go!” Daniela Cavallo, the chairman of Volkswagen’s works council, issued a warning this week. Cavalla said, “The trend is unstoppable,” in a statement that was seen by Reuters and put on VW’s intranet.
Over the past few years, golf output has substantially decreased. Volkswagen produced slightly more than 300,000 Golf cars last year, compared to over a million in 2025, according to a graph from the Works Council. The corporation only intends to construct 250,000 units this year.
Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg facility in Germany, which houses the majority of Golf production, is undergoing a significant makeover. That will soon change, though.
Beginning in 2027, production of the existing gas-powered Golf will be moved to Mexico, and Wolfsburg will host the EV model and an electric T-Roc SUV replacement.
The plant may switch to a four-day workweek during the transition. Cavallo informed factory workers on Wednesday that “a temporary four-day week is not an unreasonable scenario from 2027 onwards.”
By the end of the decade, Volkswagen intends to eliminate 35,000 jobs in Germany, according to Gunnar Kilian, the company’s head of human resources. More than 20,000 have consented to early contract termination.
Based on Rivian’s electrical architecture and software stack, Volkswagen’s entry-level EV, the electric Golf, will be the company’s second electric vehicle after the production version of the ID.EVERY1.
“The ID 1 will be the very first vehicle with that architecture and will be the frontrunner on our side for the ID Golf,” Volkswagen’s tech chief Kai Grunitz stated earlier this year.
The electric Golf will also be among the first automobiles constructed on VW’s new SSP platform, according to Autocar. The 800V design is expected to greatly increase charging efficiency and times.
In 2028, Volkswagen is anticipated to introduce the EV version, known as the ” ID Golf “. Together with the electric T-Roc replacement, it will be constructed at VW’s Wolfsburg facility.