Volkswagen pauses electric Golf development to save cash

Key takeaways

• Volkswagen has paused ID. Golf development until it can fund the investment
• Works council says the launch, expected around 2030, can still be met
• No change to the current Golf or Australian plans has been announced

Volkswagen has paused development of the electric ID. Golf, saying it cannot currently afford the investment. The brand announced the pause on Friday alongside nine-month results for its core brand group. Volkswagen describes the pause as temporary, and work will resume once funding is secured.

Volkswagen ID. Golf development paused

Finance chief David Powels confirmed work on the future ID. Golf will stop until Volkswagen can safely absorb the investment it needs. The decision comes a day after Volkswagen Group reported a €5.86 billion third-quarter operating loss.

An internal memo reported by Reuters says the Wolfsburg plant is about €300 million short of its cost-cutting target for the year. That gap belongs to the plant and is not the cost of the Golf project. Brand chief executive Thomas Schäfer reportedly told staff the company cannot afford the work at the moment.

The ID. Golf is due to use Volkswagen’s next-generation SSP platform, a group-wide electric architecture designed to cut complexity and costs. Software problems and development costs have already pushed the platform back. The Golf was expected around 2030 even before the pause, though some German reports say the early 2030s.

Volkswagen’s works council says the pause will not delay the launch and that lost time can be made up. It also called the move another sign of how strained the group’s finances are. The core Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand earned an operating profit of €813 million in the first nine months, down from €1.48 billion, with an operating margin of 1.3%.

Volkswagen has not said when work on the ID. Golf will resume. Further detail on its timing, and any Australian plans, is still to come.