Volkswagen Golf to ditch petrol power and go electric from 2028, says company boss

The next-generation Volkswagen Golf is set to move away from petrol and diesel power as early as 2028, and continue the nameplate with battery power – assuming no U-turn in the global roll-out of battery vehicles.

In November 2022, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer confirmed the Golf nameplate would live on in the electric era – and would not be replaced by the similarly-sized ID.3 launched in 2020.

The executive has now reiterated to German publication Automobilwoche there are no current plans for an all-new Golf with petrol and diesel power – and that the next generation of the nameplate would offer electric power only.

The current eighth-generation Golf is due to receive an update next year with a revised look and new technology – which will be designed to keep it fresh until the electric 'Golf 9' arrives, which Mr Schäfer indicated would not be until 2028.

Mr Schäfer left the door open to a new petrol-powered Golf if the global shift to electric cars is slower than expected – or takes a turn towards a different technology.

However, the executive believes that is unlikely to happen.

"It's clear that we will not be giving up iconic names like Golf, Tiguan and GTI, but will be transferring them to the electric world," Mr Schäfer told Automobilwoche,

"But with the Golf in particular, it has to fit the genes. Just calling any vehicle that doesn't work. We won't make that mistake.”

According to Mr Schäfer, those ‘Golf genes’ will result in the electric hatchback adopting a flatter roof than the ID.3 – though this won’t happen until 2028 at the earliest, coinciding with the launch of Volkswagen’s new ‘SSP’ electric-car platform.

Mr Schäfer also said the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf’s mid-life update – dubbed the '8.5' – next year will extend the petrol and diesel-powered hatchback’s life before it goes electric.

"That puts it in a great position until the end of the decade. Then we will have to see how the segment develops," said Mr Schäfer.

"If the world develops completely differently than expected by 2026 or 2027, then we can also launch a completely new vehicle again. But I don't expect that to happen. So far, that's not planned.”

While the Volkswagen Golf has been produced as an electric car before – between 2014 and 2021 as the e-Golf (pictured above) – the ninth-generation model will be the first to be exclusively powered by a battery, and without petrol and diesel engines.

Volkswagen has previously announced its plans for 100 per cent of its European car sales to come from electric vehicles by 2033 – two years ahead of the European Union’s proposed near-ban on the sale of new vehicles with petrol and diesel engines (but there are some concessions).