Volkswagen Golf to Debut at the End of the Year

We have seen prototypes of the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf running around, so we thought the compact car might make its debut pretty soon. But it looks like we’ll have to wait several months to see the new car. And don’t expect sales to begin until next year.

VW had planned to debut the Golf at the Frankfurt auto show in September, but the reveal has been pushed back, reports Automotive News Europe. The report says the Golf will go on sale at the start of 2020.

Previous media reports hinted that technical glitches caused the delay, and VW says it’s working on some issues as a result of the car’s advanced technology. But VW denied the glitches as the reason for the delay.

“We think it’s better to come early next year with a full throttle offensive,” Juergen Stackmann, VW brand’s sales and marketing chief, told the publication. “It’s a sales decision since you don’t try to put cars under the Christmas tree when no one is paying attention.”

A VW spokeswoman confirmed to MotorTrend that the Golf will be revealed at the end of the year. The automaker has yet to determine specific timing for the Golf’s market launch in North America.

Volkswagen will show the production ID hatchback at the Frankfurt show instead. It debuted in concept form in 2016 at the Paris auto show, and when it enters production, it will be the first in a line of new electric vehicles from the automaker, which will also include a crossover and a reinterpretation of the iconic Microbus. The ID hatch ushers in the automaker’s new, flexible MEB architecture for electric vehicles.

From what we can tell from the prototypes, the Volkswagen Golf will undergo some significant design changes, including new headlights. Karlheinz Hell, VW brand’s compact car boss, told ANE that the new Golf will have “more software on board than ever before.” We expect it to sit on a lighter version of the MQB platform.

Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription required)

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