VW puts ID. Golf EV development on ice

Volkswagen has paused preliminary development work on the planned ID. Golf. As brand chief Thomas Schäfer explained in an internal interview, the company currently lacks the money to continue work on the electric compact car slated for production in Wolfsburg.

Key Facts:

• Preliminary development work on the electric compact car is suspended temporarily; the project has not been cancelled
• The Wolfsburg plant is about $336 million (300 million euros) short of its cost-cutting target for the current year
• Emden and Zwickau stay on budget with factory costs

Wolfsburg Misses Cost Target by $336 million

Schäfer attributed the decision to the strained financial situation. Only Wolfsburg is lagging behind its targets; Emden and Zwickau are meeting their cost goals as planned. Engineers are set to return to the project once further savings take effect. The 300-million-euro figure refers to the plant's cost gap, not the cost of the Golf project itself. Brand CFO David Powels confirmed the pause in the core brand group's nine-month results statement.

ID. Golf to Follow Electric T-Roc on SSP

The ID. Golf is slated to launch in the early 2030s on the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), whose rollout has already been delayed. The electric Golf was originally expected in 2028 or 2029. In Wolfsburg, an electric T-Roc on the SSP platform comes first, with the ID. Golf to follow. VW's works council expects to make up for lost time and says the targeted launch window still stands.

EV Margins and US Investment Plans Anger Workers

The VW brand posted a loss of 182 million euros in the third quarter, its first since the pandemic year 2020. Electric models currently yield lower margins than comparable gas-powered cars, while Chinese manufacturers are adding price pressure. Audi's plan to invest $4 billion in a new US plant, announced before board approval, has fueled workers' anger. A date for resuming development work has not been given.