The launch of the Volkswagen Golf 8 has been delayed, although the Wolfsburg-based firm insists it is not because of technical issues with the new hatchback’s fresh digital features.
German newspaper Bild initially reported the delay, with Automotive News Europe contacting VW to confirm.
While Bild cites boardroom sources suggesting technical bugs with the eighth-generation Golf’s “advanced technology” saw the launch pushed back, the automaker provided another reason.
“We think it’s better to come early next year with a full-throttle offensive. It doesn’t have anything to do with production. It’s a sales decision since you don’t try to put cars under the Christmas tree when no one is paying attention,” Jürgen Stackmann, VW’s member of the board responsible for sales, marketing and after sales, told Automotive News Europe.
The Golf 8 was scheduled to be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2019, but Volkswagen says it will instead focus on its new fully electric hatchback at the event. Stackmann said the unveiling of the Golf would come later “to give the eighth-generation Golf the exclusivity it deserves”.
