Volkswagen has revealed design sketches for the upcoming 2025 Golf and Golf GTI in a surprising move. The debut of the 2025 Golf took place at CES in Las Vegas, where Volkswagen showcased the heavily camouflaged hot hatch.
Although the exterior remains “evolutionary,” a notable interior feature is a super-sized screen integrated into the dashboard. Volkswagen’s Head of Design, Andreas Mindt, shared teaser images of the standard Golf on Instagram, while an official GTI preview was released on YouTube.
Whether discussing the regular model or the high-performance GTI, the overarching theme is evolutionary design, indicating Volkswagen’s commitment to maintaining the familiar appearance of its compact cars.
The standard Golf, expected to debut shortly, is anticipated to retain the manual gearbox for global markets.
Conversely, the GTI will only be available with the DSG transmission globally, while the all-wheel-drive R model is likely to forego the manual clutch pedal. This update marks the final chapter of the internal combustion engine era of the venerable Golf.
The ninth-generation Golf, set to debut near the end of the decade, will be exclusively electric, built on the VW Group’s Scalable Systems Platform architecture. Production will take place in Wolfsburg alongside other vehicles based on the same platform.
In a separate development, Russia is reviving the long-defunct Volga brand, following the successful resurrection of Moskvich in late 2022.
The Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, has confirmed the return of Volga, a brand active from 1956 to 2010.
Plans involve collaboration with another automaker to expedite development, but the parent company, GAZ Group, has struggled to find a suitable partner, possibly due to the geopolitical climate.
Despite challenges, there are ambitions to position Volga as a premium brand, with an official launch potentially as early as this summer, featuring a price tag of $28,000. The first modern-day Volga is expected to serve Russian officials.
In related news, Russia’s AvtoVAZ is planning a new brand to sell models in various segments, with uncertainty regarding whether they will be based on existing Chinese cars or utilize a new platform developed by the country’s Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute (NAMI).