Volkswagen ends production of the base Golf for the US market
47 years and 2.5 million Golfs later, it's time to pull the plug
The Volkswagen Golf was first sold in the U.S. market in 1974 and now, 47 years and 2.5 million cars later, the German manufacturer has confirmed that production for the North American market is officially coming to an end.
A number of reasons have been factored in. With new cars going electric, manufacturers have to decide whether it makes financial and commercial sense to re-purpose their old factories to make sure they can build e-powertrains and platforms. In addition to that, North American buyers have historically shunned the base Golf, in favor of the more powerful GTI and R models and in fact, that's the reason why the Mk8 R and the GTI are indeed coming to America. We'll get to that in a second.
Production of the US-spec Golf ended in Mexico last week, but the final 2021 model is still available at dealers nationwide. Mind you, there's only one version and that's the TSI trim, powered by the 1.4-liter turbo engine, available with either 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic, with 16-inch wheels, leather upholstery and smart keyless entry.
That's the end of the bad news. The good news, is the all-new Mk 8 Golf GTI and Golf R will be available in the US in the Fall of 2022. This is because the sportier and more expensive variants of the Golf, the R and the GTI, have consistently outsold the base model across seven generations and over the years.
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Comments (29)
Big mistake
it's not bad if the more powerful models are outselling it
I agree
I don't know about the cities but rural I rarely see the regular Golf 7 here anyways, only in GTI/R trim. The Jetta is probably the most popular European car in my area.
I am really going to miss the Golf
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe they are doing this. Guess no sales case anymore. Goodbye ole friend.
Best one?
Mk1
R32