New all-electric Golf to be first VW on SSP platform

The VW group boss Oliver Blume has shed some light on the future of its most iconic golf car. As prior reports believed, the next generation won’t be a rebadged ID.2 but a standalone model on the all-new SSP platform specifically developed for returning a profit comparable to ICE models.

Clearly, Blume is realigning his company’s strategy as it was planned by his predecessor Herbert Diess. While the latter reserved the SSP platform for the prestige project Trinity, a premium executive BEV, Blume is coupling the architecture to the new Golf, arriving in 2028, which will be only available with battery propulsion. The boss of VW shed some light on these plans while talking to British magazine Autocar.

Software glitches

Originally, SSP was set for a debut in 2026 on the Trinity model. Still, software development glitches have caused significant delays – they are also why Porsche has postponed the all-electric Macan and Audi the A6 e-tron. The new deadline of two years later coincides with a new generation of Golf, but Blume points to another reason why he needs SSP.

The restrictions of the current MEB and MEB+ platforms are that they demand a higher roofline, which is one of the reasons why the ID.3, with similar dimensions, has a ten centimeters higher roof. According to Blume, that’s not Golf-like enough, but SSP can solve it. As the Trinity project is under revision, it might not arrive before 2030.

Golf name secured

So, instead of focusing on a trickle-down strategy where pioneering tech debuts on high-end models, Blume seems to refocus his efforts and investments on the core of Volkswagen’s past success. The boss hints at a length of 4,1 meters, slotting the Golf BEV right between the ID.2 and ID.3.

It is unclear what will happen with the ID.3. Volkswagen has acknowledged before that the ID name will disappear as of the next generation, which means that the ID.3 could be eclipsed by the Golf. Blume has said before in interviews that it’s unthinkable for Volkswagen to replace or ditch the Golf name altogether.

New A3 on MEB

The revised strategy also bears consequences for the technical liaison with the Golf’s sister model Audi. The A3, which will be rebadged as A2 e-tron as Audi kickstarts an all-electric model output as of 2026, is scheduled for two years earlier. For the first time in its bloodline, Audi’s compact premium will build upon different underpinnings: the MEB+ structure as found on the current ID.3

It seems conflicting as these plans are modeled on delays, but another target of Blume is actually to include a shortened development time for new products. Next to shaping a value chain independent from Chinese supply, he deems it necessary to reshape the design and engineering window to face the upcoming competition.

At the IAA Mobility, his technical righthand Grunitz stated that the company was elaborating on tangible ideas to accelerate the pipeline, even if it entails a more daunting challenge because of the higher risk for faults and recalls. The first car to be developed under the targeted shorter span of 4 or 5 years will be the brand’s EV for the masses, the ID.2.