The next-generation Volkswagen Golf has been teased for the first time, and it’s not coming from a slick marketing campaign or a carefully orchestrated embargo drop. It came from a German trade union meeting.
During a works council session this week, IG Metall (the trade union representing VW workers) let slip the first official image of what Volkswagen is calling the ID. Golf. Yes, Volkswagen is ditching the sterile alphanumeric EV naming scheme (goodbye, ID.4) and going back to names people actually remember. The ID.4 is expected to become the ID. Tiguan. And the electric Golf will simply be called… the Golf.
Smart move. Should’ve done it from the start.
What we can actually see
Not much, if we’re being honest. The teaser image shows a silhouette that’s clearly evolved from the current Mk8 hatchback, but with design cues pulled from the ID. GTI concept Volkswagen showed off previously. Think full-width lighting front and rear, sharper lines, and more aggressive wheel arches. It’ll sit on VW’s new SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) architecture and is expected to pack 800-volt dual-motor powertrains with software co-developed with Rivian.
That last bit is interesting. Volkswagen basically admitted it couldn’t sort its own software out (anyone who’s used the current Golf’s infotainment can confirm this) and brought in Rivian to help. Whether that translates to a system that actually works remains the million-dollar question.
The petrol Golf isn’t dead
And this is the part that matters to a lot of people. Volkswagen confirmed last year that the combustion Golf, including GTI and R variants, will continue well into the next decade. The current Mk8 arrived in 2019, got a facelift in 2024, and will likely get another substantial refresh around the time the ID. Golf launches. Possibly enough for VW to call it a new generation.
There’s also talk of physical buttons returning to the cabin. If true, this would be Volkswagen quietly admitting what every Golf owner has been screaming for years: touch-sensitive controls on a car’s dashboard are a terrible idea. Expect customisable digital gauges too, potentially with retro themes nodding back to the Mk1.
Production is moving to Mexico
One detail that slipped through almost unnoticed: production of the current Golf 8.5 is shifting from Wolfsburg to Puebla, Mexico next year. The Wolfsburg plant will then pivot to building the electric ID. Golf. For a car that’s been synonymous with German manufacturing for 50 years, that’s a significant change. Though VW will argue the EV still carries the Wolfsburg flag.
Where this leaves Volkswagen
Volkswagen is hedging its bets, and honestly, it’s probably the right call. Keep the combustion Golf alive for the people who want it (and there are a lot of them), while launching an electric version with a name people actually recognise. The ID.3 was supposed to be the electric people’s car. It wasn’t. Maybe calling it a Golf will help.
No confirmed launch date yet, but expect the ID. Golf somewhere between 2028 and the end of the decade. The petrol version, meanwhile, isn’t going anywhere. Which, for a lot of us, is the best news in this whole story.
