Volkswagen Golf will live with ICE and EV options

“As long as we see customers demanding combustion engine vehicles – we are one of the largest automakers in the world, we will offer that,” he told us. “Sooner or later there will be an end date, but right now it is too early to say.”

However, we do know that the next generation Volkswagen T-Roc SUV, which will be launched soon, will be the last all-new petrol VW. This means the company will have to update and adapt its existing ICE cars if it wants to continue selling them until 2030 and beyond.

When asked whether we could see Volkswagen adopt a similar strategy to MINI, placing a visually similar bodywork – albeit with important structural differences – atop the ICE (MQB) and EV-specific (MEB) platforms, Sander suggested a desire to converge the different company projects.

“I think it’s very important that we have a clear Volkswagen design language,” said Sander. “From the next launches you will see much more clarity in the way Volkswagen vehicles are designed.

“What does Volkswagen mean?” he asked. “It means solidity and reliability; you want Volkswagen as a brand to be likeable. This will apply to ICE vehicles and EVs – across the entire Volkswagen family.”

We therefore hope to see a Volkswagen ID. The Golf launches alongside an almost aesthetically identical ICE Golf before the end of the decade – possibly replacing the ID.3 and Mk8 Golf in one fell swoop.

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