Yahoo Autos ICE bans could put next-generation VW Golf on ice
Looming emissions norms and laws banning the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars could force Volkswagen's perennially popular Golf into retirement. Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer warned that the Golf's success story could end after the eighth-generation model.
"We will have to see whether it is worth developing a new vehicle that does not last the full seven or eight years. It is extremely expensive," he told German publication Welt. He added that while the Wolfsburg-based firm is working on an updated version of the eighth-generation Golf (pictured), executives won't decide whether to give the ninth-generation model the green light for production until halfway through 2023.
Volkswagen launched the eighth Golf globally in 2019, meaning its successor wouldn't arrive until 2026 at the earliest. And, using the seven- or eight-year life cycle Schäfer mentioned as a baseline, that model would remain on sale until 2033, so three years after the United Kingdom will make selling a new car powered by an internal combustion engine illegal. If we assume an eight-year life cycle for both models, the eighth-gen Golf will stick around until 2027 and its successor will live until 2035, when the combustion engine becomes illegal in Europe.
