Volkswagen has suspended development of the all-electric ID. Golf at its Wolfsburg site, at least for now. Thomas Schaefer, head of the German group’s volume brands, said the decision was difficult because of the model’s importance to both the company and the city. “We simply can’t afford this work right now,” he said, according to Reuters.
The ninth-generation Golf was intended to become an electric successor to the current ID.3 over time and to represent Volkswagen’s shift toward electric mobility. Its development was already around five years behind schedule, with the planned launch moving from 2028 to 2029 and then to 2030.
The project was built around Volkswagen’s future Scalable Systems Platform, or SSP, which was expected to underpin the group’s electric vehicles and enable advances in charging and Level 4 autonomous driving. The platform was due to appear in Wolfsburg in 2026, but industrial and software delays have left its timeline uncertain.
Volkswagen is facing pressure from tariffs and competition from Chinese brands. The group reported a loss of 1.58 billion euros in the third quarter, its largest quarterly loss in more than a decade. A Reuters-reviewed memo also said the Wolfsburg plant was 300 million euros short of its cost-reduction target.
The suspension comes as Volkswagen pursues a major restructuring plan that includes closing or reorganising four German plants. Workers have said the pause should not delay the launch and that lost time can be recovered.
Sources: Motorpasión.