VW Just Pushed Back the Electric Golf (And It’s Getting Expensive)

The new Volkswagen Golf EV is on a delay until at least 2029, due to the costs to upgrade the factory to build this new electric hatchback.

Volkswagen’s much-anticipated electric Golf has hit another speed bump – now delayed until nearly 2029 due to skyrocketing factory upgrade costs. The German automaker is struggling to retool its Wolfsburg plant while Chinese EV makers like BYD keep gaining ground in Europe. Here’s why this delay could spell trouble for VW’s electric future and what it means for affordable EV shoppers.

The anticipated affordable EV might not happen

Its not like Volkswagen to have electric vehicle delays or delays of any kind. In true German fashion, the company is typically very precise and on time but anticipating the needs of the electric vehicle world has been extremely difficult and feels more like a roller coaster ride than anything else. The new Golf EV timeline shows the car arriving in 2029 because of the costs of upgrading the VW Wolfsburg plant. Issues have arisen regarding the building of this new car, but that puts VW behind Chinese automakers in the European electric vehicle market.

The delay is less significant than it sounds

Thinking the new EV Golf won’t arrive until 2029 sounds like a significant delay for Volkswagen, but it’s really only nine months. The Wolfsburg factory needs more money, and the VW factory retooling costs are more significant than expected. The real problem is that any delay in bringing more European EVs to the market opens the door for Chinese EV competition to gain a foothold, which they already are doing, causing customers to choose models from BYD and other Chinese brands instead of the electric VW models already on the market in Europe.

A domino effect

The Volkswagen Golf EV delay means delays for other models as well. The gas-powered Golf was supposed to move production to Mexico, and that has been pushed back as well. Looking outside the Golf, this delay also caused the electric T-Roc to delay production. The new T-Roc is expected to be a small, sporty crossover EV and would be an entry-level sporty SUV that VW hopes will be at the right price point for most customers. These most recent delays come on the back of a 15-month delay announced only a year ago for these same models.

A new and old naming strategy

Despite delays for the new Golf EV, at least one new electric VW will make it to market soon. The concept car that is the ID.2all will become the ID.Polo and be a sporty electric car that could hold the line until the Golf EV appears. The ID.Polo combines the new naming strategy of calling electric models ID while adding the classic Polo name to the mix. This new electric hot hatch will come in regular and sporty GTI variants.

These two versions of this electric hatchback will appear next year, giving the market an exciting and fun electric VW to drive. The electric Polo is expected to start at a price of $29,000, which could put it on the most affordable category, at least until its slapped with the tariffs in America. Of course, there’s nothing that says this car will be sold in North America yet.

The Golf is in an awkward position

The new Volkswagen Golf EV could see serious trouble caused by this delay, as well as the one before it. The MK8 model is already one of the few hatchbacks left in the market, and demand for this car and others like it has dwindled significantly in the past few years. In 2015, more than one million Golf models were built, but last year that figure was only 300,000, and this year it continues to decline to 250,000. New models and the age of the Golf have coupled together to cause this decline. The T-Roc crossover is already on the market as a gas-powered SUV in Europe, and it’s taking some of the Golf sales.

No more delays

Although it takes money to retool and the Wolfsburg plant needs money to get this done, the Volkswagen Golf EV cannot afford another delay that would cause it to be pushed back even further. This new model is already scheduled for 2029, by which time EVs might be gone from the market altogether, or they could be on a comeback tour. The current demand doesn’t provide a positive outlook for the Golf EV, but that won’t stop Volkswagen from moving forward.