International – Late last year CEO Thomas Schäfer indicated that the Volkswagen Golf 9 would morph into a fully electric model and ever since then speculation about the nameplate has been rife.
Now Autocar has possibly shed light on what form this next-generation Golf might take, citing official sources but warning that nothing is officially confirmed at this stage.
It appears that the Volkswagen Golf 9 could be smaller than today’s car, as insiders have stated that the name is being considered for the production version of the ID.2 compact electric car that’s due in 2025.
However, the production car will apparently look totally different to the boxy ID.Life concept of 2021 that was meant to preview it, as Schäfer has reportedly rejected that controversial design. Some have even floated the idea of the new model taking some inspiration from the Golf 4.
A source at VW told Autocar that “the true value of the Volkswagen Golf lies in a car the size of the ID.2,” providing a further hint that the next-generation model will be smaller in size. The UK publication added that, size-wise, the early design proposals for the ID.2 sit somewhere between the current Polo and Golf models, with a length in the region of 4 250mm.
However, being built around the company’s upcoming “MEB-Plus” platform, the car will apparently offer a more spacious cabin than its dimensions suggest due to the packaging advantages of an all-electric platform.
And just like the original Volkswagen Golf and its Beetle predecessor put the world on a set of affordable wheels, the ID.2 (or ID Golf as it may be called if all of the above is true) could be one of the more attainable electric cars on the market as the company has been aiming to introduce a new entry-level EV at a price of around 20 000 euro (or R387 200).
And from the hints that Schäfer has been dropping there will certainly be a GTI version at some point as this nameplate is set to live on in the electric era.
While the Volkswagen Golf is looking set to electrify, the future of the Polo remains uncertain as Europe’s ever-stricter emissions laws, and the eventual ban on ICE cars in 2035, are killing the business case for smaller ICE vehicles.
As Volkswagen South Africa is heavily reliant on Polo exports to Europe, the local division is keen to build a new compact SUV product in the country – read more on that here.