At first they didn't want to, then they wanted to anyway. And now Volkswagen needs Rivian's help to build a new e-Golf.
Volkswagen needs help from the American electric car manufacturer Rivian to be able to build a new electric e-Golf.
The current ID.3 is expected to be phased out when the new model comes on the market. Volkswagen's boss, Thomas Schäfer, also confirms that Rivian will help develop the ninth generation of Golf.
The upcoming Golf will be exclusively electric and based on a newer version of the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP).
Recently, Volkswagen and Rivian established a joint venture worth 5.8 billion dollars. The money will be used to develop electrical architecture (a platform, ed.) and software for future cars. The new Golf will be one of the first results of the collaboration.
In an interview with Automotive News , Schäfer confirmed that Volkswagen needs Rivian's expertise to renew the iconic Golf.
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– We have decided how to build cars that are so-called 'software-defined'. This will happen with Rivian in the joint venture, where we put together the new electric electronics architecture.
– But we have also decided that we will start our journey with a more iconic product. So we start with Golf, says the director.
The electric Golf is not expected to be on the market until 2029. Until then, Volkswagen will continue to build on the ID.3.
An updated version with improved hardware and an interior with more physical buttons is expected in 2026. It is likely that the ID.3 and the electric Golf will be on the market at the same time for some time. The same strongly suggests that the petrol and diesel-powered Golf 8 will. Read more about it here .
Although the electric Golf will arrive in 2029, this does not mean the end of the petrol and diesel-powered Golf. The current Mk8, launched in 2019, is expected to remain in production until 2035, when the EU's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is due to come into effect.
The Golf will not be the first Volkswagen product to benefit from Rivian's know-how. Schäfer stated that Audi and Porsche will be the first with cars based on the technology of the Americans.
Here, it is expected to be able to send cars onto the street with Rivian's help as early as 2027. When the joint venture was launched, both the Volkswagen Group and Rivian announced that the future technology will be found in a large number of future cars.
Even down to cars the size of the VW Polo. A car Volkswagen in other words has regretted saying goodbye to the brand. So now it's making a comeback.
