Volkswagen Golf 8 getting a facelift, EV Golf 9 not replacing it just yet

Having asserted towards last year that it won’t be letting go of the Golf nameplate after the current eighth generation bows out, Volkswagen has additionally confirmed that the moniker won’t be integrated into the all-electric ID range either as recent reports have alleged.

No ID Golf

Seemingly on track to continue in its current form of being sold with petrol, diesel and electrified internal combustion powertrains alongside the ID.3 that was meant to eventually replace it, Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer has confirmed that the Mk 8 will be facelifted in 2024 before being replaced by the Mk 9 in 2028.

In making the announcement to Spain’s AutoBild, Schäfer, who headed Volkswagen South Africa between 2015 and 2020 before becoming Skoda CEO till 2022, said while the ninth generation Golf will most probably be electric only.

“We have iconic brand names, Golf and GTI. It would be crazy to let them die and slip away. We will stick with the ID logic but iconic models will carry a name,” Autocar quoted him as saying last year.

Playing Golf, not Polo

Based on most recent spy shots by motor1.com, the mentioned updates to the Mk 8, which could become the Mk 8.5 similar to the Mk 7 becoming Mk 7.5, will include a revision of the much criticised infotainment system that delayed its introduction in 2019 due a series of software issues.

At the same time, the images of the prototype shows it with the current steering wheel devoid of the equally panned touch-sensitive buttons. Schäfer admitted in an entry on his LinkedIn page last year, it hadn’t been accepted by the majority of buyers.

ALSO READ: Volkswagen tipped to keep Golf but not Polo come 2025

“We are bringing back the push-button steering wheel! That’s what customers want from VW,” the entry read.

As it is equally known by now, the retention of the Golf will come at the price of the Polo Wolfsburg, which is reportedly set to replace by an all-electric crossover slated to the called the ID.2 after 2025.

“We had a very good plan, where we thought EU7 was an insurmountable hurdle that will accelerate electrification. And that basically replaces the combustion engine in small vehicles like the Polo, as cars become so expensive, there is no point carrying on,” Schäfer told Autocar on the side-lines of the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November.

For South Africa…

The discontinuing of the Polo in Europe won’t, however, expand to South Africa as both it and Polo Vivo will continue beyond 2025 alongside a third model speculation has alleged could either be an SUV or a half-ton bakkie.

“Discussions [about production] are still taking place, but [I can confirm] that Polo and Polo Vivo will remain [in production at Kariega] beyond 2025,” Volkswagen South Africa’s then newly inaugurated chairperson and managing director, Martina Biene, remarked in a media sitting last year when asked about local production.

Despite Volkswagen South Africa only marketing the Golf 8 in GTI and R guises, expect these to benefit from the updates as well once production commences in 2024.

Additional information from www.autobild.es.