Electric Golf project halted: another cut at Volkswagen

The electric Golf project has been halted. Volkswagen’s crisis leads to another painful decision, announced in an internal message by CEO Thomas Schafer.

Electric Golf project halted: “We don’t have the resources”

One thing is certain: the ID.3, the model meant to replicate the Golf’s success in the electric vehicle segment, was a complete failure. Sales have always been quite low, and Volkswagen had indicated it would move on to a completely new car. With the iconic name Golf combined with the usual electric vehicle prefix, ID., everything fell through. Volkswagen CEO Schäfer himself announced this on Friday, October 30, in an internal message to employees revealed by Reuters. “I know what the Golf represents for Volkswagen and Wolfsburg. That’s why this decision wasn’t easy for us at all.” The message ends with a blunt admission: “We simply don’t have the resources to fund this project at the moment; the situation is serious.”

A threat to reverse staff cuts?

The message is clear: if Volkswagen’s main plant in Wolfsburg does not achieve certain efficiency levels, even with staff cuts, the electric Golf will not be produced. And without the Golf, the group’s new software and technical architecture, the SSP (Scalable Systems Platform), cannot be launched either. This platform is meant to replace the MEB, which has had mixed results, and is supposed to offer more competitive production times and costs compared to fierce competitors, including those in Germany. Unions, who hold significant power at Volkswagen, believe the ID.Golf will eventually be made, and that the announcement is a pressure tactic to speed up staff cuts. These cuts have become even more urgent following the poor financial results of the latest quarter. The company reassures that the project has not been abandoned but is merely delayed. And longer timelines could allow for the launch of an even better product. But the signal still has a significant impact.

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