Volkswagen’s present Golf, the Mk8, would be the final to be geared up with an internal-combustion engine, VW model boss Thomas Schaefer has confirmed.

In an interview with Automobilwoche (subscription required) printed on Sunday, Schaefer mentioned the following Golf might be provided solely with electrical energy, except the business takes a significant flip from its present electrification path, which Schaefer mentioned he doubts.

The present Golf was final redesigned in 2020 and might be given a significant replace in 2024. It means any electrical successor is probably going years away.

In his interview with Automobilwoche, Schaefer hinted the electrical successor is prone to be launched in 2028, on the earliest. That is as a result of the corporate plans to make use of a next-generation modular EV platform referred to as the SSP, he mentioned. The timing quashes rumors that VW’s reasonably priced electrical hatch due in 2025, and previewed by the current ID.2all idea, might be referred to as a Golf.

The SSP platform was initially due in 2026 however has been delayed by about two years. First introduced in 2021, the platform is being designed to simply accept battery cells and software program techniques that might be frequent throughout a lot of the fashions from VW’s Volkswagen Group mother or father.

Finally, all VW autos might be electrical. Schaefer has beforehand indicated a goal date of 2033, which is 2 years earlier than the European Union’s mandate for all new mild autos to be electrical, or fitted with engines that solely run on carbon-neutral e-fuels. VW’s final automobile to be launched with an internal-combustion engine is anticipated to be a redesigned model of the T-Roc compact crossover offered abroad. The following-generation mannequin is anticipated to reach round 2026.