Volkswagen Australia: Electric car expansion may kill Golf wagon
One of the last of its type in Australia, the Volkswagen Golf wagon, and other VW models may fall victim to the company's introduction of electric vehicles.
Volkswagen Australia's planned roll-out of electric cars – and Australia's thirst for SUVs – could eventually spell the end of less popular models such as the Golf Wagon, the boss of the company has said.
Three electric models under Volkswagen's ID brand are expected to arrive in Australia from late 2023 or early 2024 – but their arrival could force out slower-selling petrol-powered models, including the Golf wagon to reduce complexity in showrooms.
While the Golf is the only model in the small-car class with the option of a wagon body style – in an increasingly SUV-dominated market – only 10 per cent of sales are the wagon, a share that has held steady in recent years.
Volkswagen Australia Passenger Vehicles Director Michal Szaniecki told Drive the brand will be directed by what the market wants, not what it would like to sell.
“It’s not possible for us to proliferate the portfolio to infinity,” he said, explaining why there had to be a limit to what is available across the model range.
“That might mean the Golf Wagon will not be available anymore. Like we said goodbye to the Beetle a while back, which was a legend, an icon – which can happen with Golf as well. We will respond to the demand, not to what we want to sell.”
“So of course, with ID.4, 5, 3, 2 and all [the] other [electric cars] coming in, of course, we will make sure that the portfolio is being optimised and calibrated,” Szaniecki said.
As other brands move away from wagons, Volkswagen is an increasingly rare hold-out, offering long-roof variants of the Golf small car, and Passat and Arteon medium cars.
In fact, prior to the discontinuation of the sedan, the wagon accounted for up to 80 per cent of Passat sales, many of which were performance-oriented 206TSI R-Line versions.
Sister brand Skoda can quote similar percentages for its Octavia and Superb wagons – while other brands that remain in the small to mid-size wagon market include Audi, Mazda, Peugeot and Subaru (albeit with the lifted Outback).