Volkswagen Golf demand is plummeting as EV plans take over

The beloved hatchback is falling out of favor. Volkswagen is moving Golf production to Mexico as demand for the current gas-powered model sinks. The upcoming EV version will replace it in Germany alongside a new electric SUV.

Volkswagen Golf demand sinks ahead of EV version

“The Golf must go to Mexico!” Volkswagen’s works council chairman, Daniela Cavallo, warned this week. According to a statement posted on VW’s intranet, viewed by Reuters, Cavalla said, “The trend is unstoppable.”

Golf production has drastically fallen off over the past few years. A graph from the works council showed Volkswagen built just over 300,000 Golf models last year, a significant difference from over a million in 2025. This year, the company plans to build just 250,000 units.

Volkswagen is undergoing a major restructuring at its Wolfsburg plant in Germany, where the majority of Golf production is based. However, that will soon change.

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Production of the current gas-powered Golf will be relocated to Mexico from 2027, while the EV version will replace it in Wolfsburg, alongside an electric successor to the T-Roc SUV

During the transition, the plant could shift to a four-day work week. “From 2027 onwards, a temporary four-day week is not an unreasonable scenario,” Cavallo told plant workers on Wednesday.

Volkswagen’s HR head, Gunnar Kilian, added that the company plans to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany by the end of the decade. Over 20,000 have agreed to end their contracts early.

Following the production version of the ID.EVERY1, Volkswagen’s entry-level EV, the electric Golf, will be the company’s second electric vehicle based on Rivian’s electrical architecture and software stack.

Volkswagen’s tech boss, Kai Grunitz, confirmed earlier this year that “The ID 1 will be the very first vehicle with that architecture and will be the frontrunner on our side for the ID Golf.”

According to Autocar, the electric Golf will also be one of the first vehicles built on VW’s new SSP platform. The 800V architecture promises to significantly improve charging times and efficiency.

Volkswagen is expected to launch the EV variant, the “ID Golf,” in 2028. It will be built at VW’s Wolfsburg plant alongside the electric T-Roc successor.