Golf 8 rolls off the assembly line

Golf 8 rolls off the assembly line

A Golf in the color Anemone Blue Metallic was the first vehicle of the technically and visually revised eighth model generation to roll off the assembly line in Hall 12 a few days ago - almost exactly 50 years to the day after the first series Golf was built in Wolfsburg. "The Golf has continually adapted to customer needs and has become a global bestseller - made in Wolfsburg. We are now building on this with the latest evolutionary stage of this series - with even more efficiency, comfort, value and a new operating concept. You can't get more Golf than that," says Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand. Over the past five decades, the Volkswagen main plant has always been something of a heartbeat for global Golf production: of the more than 37 million copies of the compact class king sold to date, more than half were manufactured here, an average of 400,000 vehicles per year. These include the “classic” Golf in its eight generations, with different derivatives such as the Golf Variant and a wide range of models and drives.

The new model can be recognized primarily by its modified front section. Visually striking are the newly designed LED headlights, which in the top version as “IQ.LIGHT – LED matrix headlights” offer a new high-performance high beam with a very long range. For the first time on a European Volkswagen, the VW logo is also illuminated in the radiator grille. The “IQ.LIGHT – 3D LED rear lights” have also been redesigned – on both the Golf and the Golf Variant. The interior uses a new generation of infotainment systems with even faster processors, a free-standing touchscreen (diagonal: 32.2 cm/12.9 inches) and an intuitive menu. The touch slider for temperature and volume control is now illuminated. The latest version of digital instruments is always on board as standard. Also new: the multifunction steering wheel with easy-to-use buttons and the IDA voice assistant with integrated ChatGPT function3, which can be used to control functions such as air conditioning, telephone, navigation and many other facts - from flight schedules to knowledge questions - can be accessed online.

On the drive side, the Golf Update offers - in addition to the proven and economical TSI, TDI and eTSI mild hybrid engines - two new plug-in hybrids with a purely electric range of around 100 km and a total range of around 900 km, as well as a DC fast charging function. The largest plant in the Volkswagen Group had another reason to celebrate this week. A few days before the start of production of the new Golf, the 48 millionth vehicle rolled off the production line at the factory; No other automobile factory in the world has produced as many cars as Wolfsburg. It almost goes without saying that the anniversary model was also a Golf. The urano gray vehicle is already on its way to a customer in Great Britain. “48 million is an impressive number that would never have been possible without a motivated and qualified workforce,” says Jürgen Mahnkopf, deputy chairman of the general and group works council. “Every single vehicle that has been produced here at this location over the past 50 years has put a lot of passion and passion from our employees.”