The most successful European car of all time is entering its eighth generation – with the biggest technological leap since the best-seller’s debut 45 years ago. “The Golf is a world car,” said Volkswagen CEO Dr. Herbert Diess at the world premiere of the new Golf in Wolfsburg. Even in its eighth edition, it is “the right vehicle at the right time.”
"The Golf is our answer"
Sustainable, smart, and well-connected: Volkswagen presented the eighth generation of the top-seller in Wolfsburg. We give you brief look at the high-lights.
Chief Designer Klaus Bischoff and Board Members of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand presenting the new Golf (from left): Jürgen Stackmann, Stephan Wöllenstein, Frank Welsch, Ralf Brandstätter, CEO Herbert Diess, Gunnar Kilian, Arno Antlitz, Andreas Tostmann and Dirk Große-Loheide. At the centre: German national soccer coach Joachim Löw.
“The Golf is a world car,” said Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess at the world premiere in Wolfsburg. More than 35 million models have been sold worldwide since 1974.
Forty-five years have passed since the first edition of the Golf, Diess explained in his speech, more than 35 million models have been sold worldwide. Instead of the oil crisis, today the climate crisis dominates the public discourse. Digitalization and sustainability are the biggest challenges, for the automotive industry as well. At the same time, the following applies more than ever: “The Golf is our answer.” This is achieved by means of a unique range of innovations that not only makes the new Golf a pioneer in terms of sustainability. Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of Volkswagen, described it in his speech as follows: “The Golf has consistently made new technologies available for everyone. And this is especially true for the new Golf.”
Will be launched in December already: the bestseller from Wolfsburg.
At the premiere event at the Wolfsburg Autostadt, Volkswagen showed the 600 guests precisely what this means. The new Golf with its five ultra-modern hybrid drives – from the eTSI Mild-Hybrid to the sporty GTE e-Hybrid – ensures that sustainable mobility is accessible to millions of people. The eTSI engines, as mild hybrid drives, enable fuel savings of around ten percent (based on WLTP) as well as highly agile and comfortable starting performances. The two plug-in hybrid drives (as an efficiency version with 150 kW / 204 hp and as a sporty GTE with 180 kW / 245 hp) feature a new 13 kWh lithium-ion battery that enables longer electrical ranges of around 60 kilometres and temporarily makes the Golf a zero-emission vehicle.
Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of the Volkswagen brand: “The Golf has consistently made new technologies available for everyone.” One example: The new generation with its five ultra-modern hybrid drives.
The drivetrain portfolio also includes highly effective petrol (TSI), diesel (TDI) and natural gas (TGI) variants. A novelty in TDI aggregates: Thanks to twindosing technology (with two SCR catalytic converters), Volkswagen reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80 percent, and TDI consumption is up to 17 percent lower than its predecessor. The new Golf will be launched as early as December.
“Inside, it’s a revolution.”
As consequently sustainable as the new Golf is, just as consequently it is connected. The systems are not only talking to each other, but also to the world outside the Golf via an Online-Connectivity-Unit (OCU). The standard OCU with integrated eSIM networks with the online functions and services of “We Connect” and “We Connect Plus”.
In addition, the digitized display landscape can be personalized to suit the taste of each driver. The new Golf also sets standards for assisted driving functions: The “Travel Assist”, used for the first time worldwide in a model in the compact class, makes it possible to drive on highways at up to 210 km/h without actively steering, accelerating, or braking.
The digitized display landscape can be personalized.
The new Golf is also the first Volkswagen to network as standard with its surroundings: via Car2X. This function uses information from other vehicles within a radius of up to 800 meters as well as signals from the traffic infrastructure to warn the driver and also forward these warnings to other vehicles. Swarm intelligence thus becomes the present. Or as Volkswagen COO Brandstätter put it: “Inside, it’s a revolution.”
For millions of customers worldwide, the Golf means a piece of life history.
Keyword revolution: This applies equally to the spaciousness feeling, ease of use, the solid choice and durability. And for decades of iconic design. “A striking face with a low front section. Never before has a Golf looked so sporty, so cool,” was how Brandstätter described the impact of the new design developed by Volkswagen Chief Designer, Klaus Bischoff and his team.
The digital cockpit is also completely new. “In an increasingly complex world, the new Golf enables the driver to operate it simply and intuitively”, Klaus Bischoff said. Virtually all display and control elements are digital: the new instruments and online infotainment systems merge to form a display landscape with touch buttons and sliders. Optionally, a Windshield head-up display completes the information spectrum.
As a vehicle that shaped the DNA of the Volkswagen brand like no other, the eighth generation Golf will also write a piece of personal history for millions of customers worldwide. “The Golf is the car used for taking their driving tests to the young at heart. It is a timeless classic. It is classless both in front of the opera house and the clubhouse,” said Volkswagen CEO Diess. COO Brandstätter added: “And yet, the new Golf still remains a true Golf. A car that you can rely on every day – and a car that’s ready for adventure.”
