Volkswagen so far remains more committed than some of its competitors to sticking out the swap to a fully electric lineup, at least in the long term, considering the slowing growth in demand for electric vehicles in global markets outside of China. The brand is making big news with plans for a more affordable compact hatchback said to come in the next couple of years with a hotter GTI version to follow, but that’s now likely destined only for the European market.
- Base Trim Transmission
-
7-Speed DCT
- Base Trim Horsepower
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241 hp
- Base Trim Torque
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273 lb-ft
Americans will have to wait a little longer to see what Volkswagen’s all-electric GTIs can do, as a new all-electric VW Golf and Golf GTI EV should come by the end of the decade, VW execs have now confirmed.
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When Can We Expect The 9th-Gen VW Golf As An EV?
“We have time now, as the Golf is running very well into the end of this decade, and at the end of the decade, we’ll bring an electric Golf,” says VW CEO Thomas Schäfer. That means we can likely expect the current gas GTI to stick around until at least 2028, if not much longer.
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There’s potential that the ninth-generation all-electric Golf will be sold alongside the eighth-gen gas version for a few years, as it was previously reported that the gas model could stay until the mid-2030s under current regulations. It’s also been previously reported that we should expect the electric Golf around 2029, so that lines up with Schäfer’s new comments.
Focused On Performance And Fun
Now that there’s a firm timeline, and Rivian has been tapped for software on future EVs, Schäfer seems more focused on the actual performance of the future products, which is nice:
“First of all: can you make an electric Golf exciting? Absolutely. We have driven a few prototypes that we have built on the new setup, and it is mind-blowing. What about the sound? What about the total feel? The handling and so on can be done.”
– Thomas Schäfer, VW CEO
“I’m very happy with the progress. It’s cool and you can make it exciting. It has to be exciting and it has to be authentic.” He further described the e-GTI as a “monster car” that will be “mind-blowing” to drive.
Of course, an EV can only be so authentic, but VW has taken steps to soften the blow of the transition. The current Golf GTI is no longer available with a manual transmission, and there’s no word yet on whether VW is working on any sort of simulation software for its EVs to mimic the stick shift to bring some character back into the vehicle, like Hyundai has attempted with the Ioniq 5 N EV that’s currently eating the Golf’s lunch in terms of performance and tech advancement – albeit as a crossover.
What Sort Of Performance Can We Expect From An Electric GTI?
The current Golf GTI is pegged at 241 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque through the front wheels, and the Golf R steps up to 328 hp and 310 lb-ft through all four wheels. Based on the CEO’s comments, we expect a far-future Golf R EV to move much further up in performance, and the GTI EV to step up closer to 300 hp for its electric version, if we had to guess. It’d be surprising and interesting if the EV retained the GTI’s front-wheel-drive nature, as the tendency with EVs is to go RWD or AWD these days.
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Source: Autocar
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