Bad News: The future of the Volkswagen Golf is up in the air
Upcoming Euro 7 regulations and ICE ban could mean that we won’t see the next-gen Golf 9
The Volkswagen Golf is the most iconic hot-hatch of all time but now its future seems uncertain. During an interview with German newspaper Welt, VW’s boss Thomas Schäfer said that we might not see a Mk 9 Golf.
Due to the Euro 7 regulations set to be announced in the coming years, the costs incurred for building combustion engined cars will increase. The former Skoda head said that it will be “extremely expensive” to develop Euro 7-compliant vehicles with development costs of ICE engines set to increase from around €3,000 to €5,000. The prices will increase as combustion engines will have to be made compliant to the strict Euro 7 regs.
Now moving on to the Golf and how this affects the icon’s future. While VW is set to give the current 8th Gen Golf a mid-life facelift, the future of the Mk 9 and further predecessors is up in the air as Volkswagen’s head honcho said that they “will have to see whether it is worth developing a new vehicle that does not last the full seven or eight years.”
The seven to eight years mentioned here point out to the ban the European Union will be placing on sales of combustion engined cars in 2035. So the current generation Golf is expected to get a facelift in late 2023 or early 2024 and then will be sold for three to four years more.
What makes the situation precarious for Volkswagen is that if a Golf 9 does arrive in around 2027/2028, then its end of life cycle could arrive in tandem with the combustion-engined car sales ban. Now THAT would be some climax for the Golf 
However, it is not confirmed that we will not see a Golf 9 as VW’s head honcho said: “we will know more in twelve months.”
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