Volkswagen hits pause on the Golf EV as it faces an ‘urgent need for action’ — SkimNews
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- Volkswagen reported a €5.9 billion ($6.5 billion) operating loss in the third quarter — its largest quarterly loss since the 2015 Dieselgate scandal — driven by a write-down of its Porsche stake, weak sales in China, and lower profit margins on electric vehicles.
- Volkswagen has paused development of the all-electric Golf at its Wolfsburg plant as part of its latest cost-control efforts, with brand CEO Thomas Schäfer telling staff in an internal memo that "we simply can't afford this work right now."
- Wolfsburg — described in Schäfer's memo as the "heart of the VW brand" — is roughly €300 million ($334.5 million) short of its cost-cutting targets, and the CEO said the decision "was really not an easy one for us."
- Arno Antlitz, VW Group's CFO and COO, warned after the results that "we cannot afford to lose any time and must act quickly and decisively."
- Future Plan 2030, the restructuring strategy approved by VW's Supervisory Board last month, cuts the global workforce by 100,000, trims the lineup, and closes several plants in Germany.
- Scalable Systems Platform, the architecture developed through VW's partnership with Rivian, is taking longer than expected, Schäfer said — the stated reason the electric Golf (to be sold as the ID. Golf) moved from its initial 2028 launch toward 2030.
- Mexico takes over production of the gas-powered Golf in 2027, while the electric Golf will be built at Wolfsburg closer to the end of the decade; VW's works council says the pause will not delay the 2030 launch and it will make up the lost time.
Why it matters: VW's 100,000 planned job cuts and German plant closures now sit alongside a paused flagship EV: Wolfsburg remains roughly €300 million short of its savings targets, the electric Golf slips closer to 2030, and gas-powered Golf production shifts to Mexico in 2027.
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