Automotive News Europe - February 2020 - 6

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

 

COVER STORY

The eighth-generation Golf (in green, with earlier versions) is forecast to have global sales that are 1 million
units below its predecessor over its life cycle, leading to
doubts whether there will be a ninth-generation model.

Golf's war
Europe's best-seller fights for its long-term survival against EVs, SUVs
CHRISTIAAN HETZNER
chetzner@autonews.com

A

mid a raging debate over the very future of the car, the president of the
Federal Republic of Germany hurried to
Wolfsburg to address anxious Volkswagen employees. Society had realized the
world's remaining fossil fuel reserves
would have to be managed more carefully, the head of state warned that November day, and "can no longer be exploited
without consequence." Resource conservation held the key to the industry's
preservation, and with it an entire way of
life. A bold new model designed with this
very goal in mind had therefore started
production only six months earlier, carrying with it the hopes of a workforce
worried about flagging sales of VW's aging stalwart. By taking action now, the
prominent visitor predicted that "the automobile will continue to play the major
role as a means of individual mobility."

6

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Although eerily familiar, this scene actually happened in 1974. The auto industry was in the throes of the first oil crisis
and VW was neck and neck with Opel.
Despite the recent arrival of the Passat,
liquidity had dwindled to dangerously low
levels after multiple attempts to develop
a successor to the Beetle had failed.
Salvation came that year in the form
of a fuel-efficient hatchback. Penned
by design legend Giorgetto Giugiaro, it
was compact yet roomy with four doors
thanks to the new, transverse-mounted
front-engine layout popularized by the
smaller Morris Mini from Britain. Starting at 7,995 deutsche marks - roughly
11,500 euros in today's terms - the Golf
became an instant hit. Just 31 months
after assembly began, the 1 millionth
unit left the factory gate in Wolfsburg.
"We have been building the car for the
past 45 years over seven generations,
delivered 35 million to customers, an

entire segment is named after it [in Germany] and it has been the financial and
technological foundation of our brand
for years," VW brand Chief Operating Officer Ralf Brandstätter said when introducing the eighth generation of the car
last year. "No other model has shaped
Volkswagen more than the Golf."
Once again the automaker finds itself at
a crossroads. Once more a new compact

ELITE COMPANY
All-time top-selling vehicles (debut year)
	1. 	Toyota Corolla*	
	2.	Ford F-series*	
	3.	VW Golf*	
	4.	VW Beetle 	
	5.	VAZ 2101 	

+45 million	
+40 million	
+35 million	
+21 million	
+16 million	

(1966)
(1948)
(1974)
(1938)
(1980)

* Still in production
Source: ANE analysis

FEBRUARY 2020
http://www.autonewseurope.com
Automotive News Europe - February 2020

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