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Volkswagen is systematically forging ahead with its “in China, for China” strategy. The goal is even closer alignment with the specific requirements of customers in the world’s largest auto market and to provide them with a convincing product offering in all relevant segments. The ID. CODE design show car that celebrates its world premiere this week at the Auto China 24 trade fair in Beijing (from April 25 to May 4, 2024) bears witness to this systematic orientation to the wishes of Chinese customers. The concept car’s aesthetics are completely new and give a preview of a large electric SUV. The ID. CODE is designed for Level 4 fully autonomous driving. The new progressive ID.UX sub-brand also plays a key role in terms of Volkswagen’s profile in the Chinese market. With all-electric, lifestyle-oriented models, this sub-brand is designed to appeal to younger customers in particular.

“The Volkswagen brand can already look back on 40 years of success in China, and we are continuing this success story into the new mobility era, thus confirming the trust of our Chinese customers,” Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, said. The sharpened strategy in China has three pillars: a comprehensive product portfolio accelerating the electrification of the brand’s models, a brand and design language developed specifically for the Chinese market, and local technical development with strong partners in China to accelerate the pace of innovation. Thomas Schäfer: “The ID. CODE gives a first preview of the future of VW in China: with a new design, a new technology standard and a holistic brand experience – specifically oriented to the needs and wishes of our Chinese customers. We are ushering in a new era of mobility in China, together with our Chinese partners.”

ID. CODE design show car debuts at Auto China 2024

With the world premiere of the ID. CODE at Auto China 2024, Volkswagen is giving a first preview of the new design language of future models and at the same time launching a new technology era. The concept car was developed specifically for customers in China. With its powerful, clear and fluid surfaces the concept car is reminiscent of a Gran Turismo. The exterior also functions as a projection surface for next-generation AI-assisted light and display systems. This goes well with the newly-designed living space on board the ID. CODE, where the real and virtual worlds meet to create a new mobility experience. The electric-powered concept car can be driven conventionally or in Level 4 autonomous driving mode.

Broad product portfolio for Chinese customers by 2030 announced

The ID. family will grow to a total of 16 models by 2030. This includes five EVs from the new ID.UX sub-brand that will celebrate their market debut by 2027. Volkswagen is also introducing electric versions of its ICE models step-by-step and expanding its portfolio in China with new, highly-efficient plug-in hybrids with an electric range of over 100 kilometers. Twelve new ICE models and six hybrids will debut by 2030. In addition, Volkswagen is complementing the proven MQB and MEB vehicle architectures by adding local platforms in China – for example, through partnerships such as the cooperation with XPENG. Furthermore, Hefei-based Volkswagen China Technology Company (VCTC) is developing the Group’s first electric platform specifically for China. At least four additional models for the electric entry-level segment are to be built on the China Main Plattform (CMP) from 2026. Multiple platforms enable Volkswagen to offer its customers the right products in all relevant segments and to meet all needs.

New all-electric ID.UX sub-brand expands product range

Volkswagen is expanding its EV offering for new customer groups in China with ID.UX. ID.UX combines proven VW virtues with lifestyle-oriented design DNA. Brand-specific features include a progressive exterior design along with a driver-centric interior featuring an entirely new display and operating concept (HMI) for young customers. The first ID.UX model is the ID.UNYX, scheduled to make its market debut in 2024.

Intensified local development for greater innovativeness

Volkswagen is strengthening its ecosystem of production, development, procurement and battery production in China. By the end of the year, the number of employees at the R&D site in Anhui alone will have grown to 3,000 experts. The brand is also intensifying localization to achieve significantly shorter development cycles. Chinese partners such as XPENG, Horizon Robotics and Thundersoft are to be integrated into the development process at an early stage. In collaboration with XPENG, two new mid-class vehicles are planned from 2026. Employees at the CARIZON joint venture with Horizon Robotics and the CARThunder joint venture with Thundersoft are engaged in developing innovative systems for autonomous driving, infotainment and connectivity.

Articles source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Less than four month to go until the big GTI party takes place, from 26-28 July. For the first time, the legendary GTI meetup will be held at locations around the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, and the theme will be Icons Coming Home. All information on advance ticket sales can now be found on www.volkswagen.de/gtifanfest, with one-day passes costing €19.76 and three-day VIP tickets available for €119.76. A limited number of Experience Tickets are also available, and include a 150-minute driving experience in a series of performance Volkswagen models at the testing facility in Ehra near Wolfsburg. More details about the meet-up can be found on the event website, where information will continually be updated. In addition to car displays, stage shows and club meets, many more activities and surprises lay in store for GTI and Volkswagen enthusiasts and their families. Admission is free for under-18s.

Imelda Labbé, Member of the Volkswagen Board of Management responsible for Sales, Marketing and After Sales, said: “The GTI Fanfest is a party for, and shaped by, fans. It’s all about them, and they make the meet-up what it is – a gathering that’s brimming with passion for the Volkswagen brand and all things four-wheeled.” With anticipation among the community at a high, organisers are expecting a crowd of up to 35,000 people to attend from all over the world.

The creative programme of events puts a special focus on fans’ personal wishes and realises a number of ideas put forward by the community. This includes, for example, personalised footwear, with a shoe designer who is also an enthusiast coming up with a series of GTI-themed sneakers. Visitors will be able to buy these collectors’ items at the event or bring their own sneakers to be customised in person.

Other festival highlights include the presentation of a new GTI lifestyle collection, a GTI parade through VW’s Wolfsburg factory and plenty of owners’ cars on display, with fans able to register their models at the event.

Elsewhere, GTI variants from across all eight generations of the Golf will make an appearance around the VfL Wolfsburg Bundesliga club stadium, as well as GTI versions of the Lupo, Polo and up! will be on show at locations around the stadium of the VfL Wolfsburg Bundesliga club. Volkswagen will also give visitors a glimpse of the all-electric future of the brand by showcasing the sporty GTX versions of its ID. family and presenting the ID. GTI Concept.

Influencer JP Performance will exhibit his ‘Super-Golf’ along with the ‘Thunder Bunny’; community cars and special Volkswagen show cars will feature; and a mobile engine testing stand will be set up in the community car park for GTI and R drivers. A DJ and live music, food trucks and the famous Volkswagen currywurst are also on the menu.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Series production of the new Golf has started at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg: the first car from the technically and visually revamped eighth model generation to roll off the assembly line in Hall 12 today was a Golf Style in anemone blue metallic – almost exactly 50 years since the very first series Golf was built in Wolfsburg.

“The Golf has been at the heart of the Volkswagen brand for half a century, offering affordable mobility for all at the highest technical level. The Golf has constantly adapted to customer needs, thus becoming a global bestseller – made in Wolfsburg. This is precisely what we are building on with the new evolutionary stage – with even higher efficiency, comfort and quality and a new operating concept. The Golf does not get any better than this,” Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said.

Over the last five decades, Volkswagen’s main plant in Wolfsburg has in a sense become the “soul” of global Golf production: over half of the more than 37 million models of this king of the compact class sold to date – an average of 400,000 units per year – have been built at the main plant. This includes the “classic” Golf, now in its eighth generation, with various derivatives such as the Golf Variant and Golf Sportsvan, and a broad range of models and powertrains.

The new model is easily recognized by its modified front end. Visually defining features include the newly-designed LED headlights. The top-of-the-range IQ.LIGHT – LED matrix headlights incorporate a new high-performance main beam with a very high range. For the first time in a European Volkswagen, the Volkswagen logo in the radiator grille is also illuminated. The IQ.LIGHT – 3D LED tail light clusters have also received a new design – in both the Golf and the Golf Variant.

The interior features a new generation of infotainment system with even faster processors, a free-standing touchscreen (diagonal: 32.2 cm/12.9 inches) and an intuitive menu structure. The touch sliders for temperature and volume control are now illuminated. The latest digital instruments are also always on board as standard. Also new is the multifunction steering wheel with easy-to-use buttons and the IDA voice assistant with integrated ChatGPT function that can not only be used to control functions such as the air conditioning system, telephone or navigation system, but also to access online information on practically any topic – from flight details to general knowledge questions.

In terms of the powertrain range, in addition to the proven, efficient TSI, TDI and eTSI mild hybrid drives, the Golf update also offers two new plug-in hybrids with an electric range of well over 100 km and a combined range of some 1,000 km, as well as a DC quick-charging function.

The Volkswagen Group’s largest car manufacturing plant had another reason to celebrate this week, too. Just a few days before the new Golf went into production, the factory celebrated the 48 millionth vehicle to leave the assembly line; no other automotive plant worldwide has built anywhere near as many vehicles as the factory in Wolfsburg. It goes without saying that the anniversary model was a Golf. The model in urano grey is already on its way to a customer in the United Kingdom. “48 million is an impressive figure that would never have been possible without a motivated and skilled workforce,” Jürgen Mahnkopf, Deputy Chair of the General and Group Works Councils, said. “Our employees have put their heart and soul into every single vehicle that has been built here over the last 50 years.”

With a production volume of some 20 million vehicles, the Golf is the most-built model at the plant. Second place goes to the Beetle, with almost 12 million units produced in Wolfsburg between 1945 and 1975. The Tiguan now occupies third place, with just under 3.5 million models rolling off the assembly lines since start of production in 2007. It has overtaken the Polo, where production of more than three million units at the site on the Mittelland Canal began in 1975. “The connection between the Golf and the Wolfsburg plant is quite unique: Wolfsburg is the Golf – and the Golf is Wolfsburg,” Plant Manager Rainer Fessel said. “As a team we have meticulously planned the start of production over the past weeks and months. Now we are delighted we will soon be seeing the new Golf on the roads.”

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

On 29 March exactly 50 years ago, Volkswagen started series production of the Golf in Wolfsburg. Nobody knew on that day in March that this compact car – the successor to the legendary Beetle – would become the most successful Volkswagen and best-selling European car of all time. It reflected the spirit of the times, gave its name to its own vehicle class, and has accompanied generations of people around the world. To date, more than 37 million units have followed 1974’s first series-production Golf. Purely in mathematical terms, this means that over 2,000 people around the world have opted to buy a new Golf every single day over the last 50 years. Today, Volkswagen is celebrating the Golf’s birthday – and also the start of this world bestseller’s future thanks to a comprehensive technical and visual update.

Volkswagen – from the round Beetle to the angular Golf. The first new Golf models could be seen in dealers’ showrooms in July 1974. Where the Beetle and thus rear-mounted engines had previously dominated the scene for many decades, a new era now finally began: that of the front-mounted transverse engine. Volkswagen had already initiated this transition shortly before with the Scirocco and Passat. With the Golf, the highest-volume class now also used this new technology.

Volkswagen reinvents itself. As the successor to the legendary Beetle that had been produced more than 21.5 million times, the Golf developed by Giorgio Giugiaro and Volkswagen Design had to live up to high expectations in order to continue the success story of the most successful car of all time up to that point. And it did so in every way: customers were so impressed by the modern drive concept, variable interior and new design that the Golf had already hit the one million mark by October 1976.

The Golf principle. In 1974, Volkswagen wrote the following about the new vehicle with its large tailgate: “The Golf offers maximum space and safety. It is uncompromisingly geared towards practicality. The low beltline gives drivers a clear overview, and the sloping bonnet ensures that the road right in front of the vehicle is visible. The rear window extends well down, making reversing much easier.” And this all still applies up to the present day for every Golf ever built.

The Golf and the factory. From the very beginning, the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg and its employees also benefited from the successful start of the Golf I. To date, more than 20 million Golfs have been built in Wolfsburg alone. The 17 million Golfs built so far outside Wolfsburg have been produced in other German plants as well as in Belgium, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Slovakia and South Africa. In this sense too, the Golf is a world car. However, its technologies have always been typical examples of progressive German engineering.

Golf I – A reflection of progress. Just like all following Golf generations, the first generation was also a reflection of the technical state-of-the-art and current automotive trends. And that was not just true of the ingenious use of space for the time and the vehicle’s front-wheel drive.With the first Golf GTI (1976), Volkswagen initiated the dynamic development of the compact class. The Golf D (1976) and the later Golf GTD (1982) ensured the breakthrough of diesel in the compact segment. In 1979, Volkswagen launched the Golf Cabriolet – for a time the best-selling convertible car in the world. This was like a breath of fresh air for this vehicle class, which had by then already long been known as the Golf class. A total of 6.9 million units of the first generation of the Golf, including all derivatives, were sold on all continents by 1983 – the Golf I thus proved itself to be a worthy successor to the Beetle.

Golf II – The milestone. Today’s Volkswagen Chief Designer, Andreas Mindt, sums up the most important moment in the history of the Golf: “It was the switch from Golf I to Golf II. Volkswagen’s then Chief Designer Herbert Schäfer did everything right there. He modernised the second Golf but kept the DNA of the first generation. This bridge is extremely important for the Golf’s history. The Golf has always remained a further development of this original model. That is the special thing about the Golf, and the credit for this belongs to Herbert Schäfer.” Technologies such as the controlled catalytic converter, ABS and all-wheel drive made their debut in the Golf II. A total of 6.3 million Golf II cars were built between 1983 and 1991.

Golf III – Safety first. From August 1991, Volkswagen kick-started a new era of safety with the Golf III. This was the product line’s first model available with front airbags from 1992, and great progress in the area of body design also led to significant improvements in its crash properties. A number of the product line’s other milestones are associated with the Golf III, which had been built 4.8 million times by 1997: for example, the first six-cylinder engine (VR6), cruise control system and the first side airbags. For the first time, this Golf was also available as an estate model.

Golf IV – The style icon The Golf IV presented in 1997 is today considered to be a style icon – no doubt also due to the fact that it bridged the gap to the Golf I from 1974 with its clear features and the striking C-pillar design of the product line. With the Golf IV, Volkswagen achieved a new standard of quality within the segment. In parallel, the debut of ESP made a further contribution to making safety available to the masses. In 2002, Volkswagen also presented the sportiest Golf to date on the basis of the fourth generation: the R32 with a top speed of 250 km/h. In 2003, this was the first Volkswagen to receive a direct shift gearbox (DSG). The Golf IV was replaced in the same year after 4.9 million units built.

Golf V – Class limits abolished. With its outstanding comfort, the fifth Golf – which was launched in 2003 – was miles ahead of many competitors in the upper mid-sized class. The same was true for quality. A value that underlined the stability of the laser-welded body was the 35-per-cent increase in torsional rigidity. For the first time, up to eight protective airbags were also on board. In addition, the Golf V, which had been built 3.4 million times by 2008, impressed with a new four-link rear suspension, bi-xenon headlights and the first 7-speed DSG.

Golf VI – High-tech compact class. By the end of July 2012, a further 3.6 million Golfs had been produced in only four years on the basis of the sixth generation that was introduced in 2008. And safety once again took a great leap forward: the again laser-welded body was so stable that it scored the maximum of five stars with flying colours in the Euro NCAP crash test. New technologies such as Light Assist (advanced main-beam control), Park Assist, Hill Start Assist and adaptive chassis control (DCC) made the 2009 ‘World Car of the Year’ one of the most advanced compact cars of its time.

Golf VII – Less weight, less consumption. In September 2012, Volkswagen celebrated the world premiere of the seventh Golf. Its weight was reduced by up to 100 kg compared with its predecessor, which meant that fuel consumption was also reduced by up to 23 per cent. New technologies such as the Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control and Front Assist including City Emergency Braking System rounded off the range of assist systems. In 2014, Volkswagen set its course for the era of electric mobility with the new e-Golf. A total of 6.3 million Golf VII cars were produced up to 2019.

Golf VIII – The progressive modern era. Volkswagen presented the Golf VIII in October 2019. With its new mild and plug-in hybrid drives, it electrified the compact class. And as one of the first compact cars, it enabled assisted driving by means of Travel Assist. Even the entry-level version today has features such as Lane Assist, Front Assist, LED headlights, LED tail light clusters and automatic air conditioner on board as standard. In combination with the optional adaptive chassis control DCC and the vehicle dynamics manager, the Golf VIII also achieves an unprecedented spread between comfort and dynamics in this class. More than one million units have been sold so far.

Now – in 2024 – the new evolutionary stage of the eighth generation has arrived. The new Golf impresses with a next-generation infotainment system, a more intuitive operating concept, a sharper front and rear end design as well as efficient drive systems. These include plug-in hybrid drives with an increased all-electric range of significantly more than 100 kilometres. An illuminated Volkswagen logo02 also adorns the front for the first time in a Golf. In addition, the new Golf with voice control and the AI-based chatbot ChatGPT once again makes technical innovations available to the masses.

Articles source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com