The ninth Volkswagen Golf will be electric

• Expect a mild redesign next year.

• The current generation should extend until the end of the decade.

• The same rules apply to the Tiguan.

German brand will not develop a ninth generation of its legendary Golf. When the life span of the eighth generation of its internationally sold compact car ends, its manufacturer will go straight to electric mode.

In an interview with Automobilwoche, a sister division of Automotive News, Volkswagen’s top boss Thomas Schaefer said, among other things, that the Golf will be redesigned next year, which he said would put the car in a good position by the end of the decade.

Volkswagen’s CEO also said that there was a very slim possibility of introducing a new model (of the Golf), if the automotive world moves in a contrary direction by 2026 or 2027, but that it was quite unlikely that this scenario would materialize.

In fact, this announcement of the end of the internal combustion engine model does not only apply to the Golf. Schaefer also said that the Tiguan and GTI names would be transferred to the brand’s electric era.

The other good news, if there is any, is that the automaker has no intention of offering an electric version of the Golf until it is possible to apply the genes of the current car to an electric variant. In other words, the future EV Golf is likely to move away from the rounded design of the current ID.3, the electric compact that is the brand’s entry-level car in Europe, let’s not forget.

It’s still hard to predict Volkswagen’s strategy for the Golf GTI, as the automaker continues to market the sporty compact in North America, alongside the more powerful Golf R, mind you. However, the Golf version has been replaced by the Taos crossover on this side of the Atlantic.

The same can be said about the next Tiguan, as the automaker has already started developing the next generation, as a few mocked-up prototypes have been spotted on the road. The Tiguan is Volkswagen’s most important vehicle in North America, the compact crossover being sold in a category that is very popular with consumers.

The next few years will be crucial for Volkswagen, with this relatively delicate transfer from combustion models to the Wolfsburg automaker’s purely electric chapter.