Next-Gen VW Golf Due in 2020

Volkswagen AG plans to launch the eighth-generation Golf small car in early 2020, just a month ahead of the scheduled introduction of the carmaker’s all-new I.D. electric car.

While company officials say they aren’t worried about the near-simultaneous debut of the two vehicles, they concede that developing a trio of next-generation technologies is a challenge. “The true stress test is our capability to bring together connectivity, autonomous drive and electric at the same time,” Jurgen Stackman, VW’s board member in charge of sales and marketing, tells Australia’s Drive car shopping website.

Built on VW’s MEB platform for electric vehicles, the I.D. hatchback will be about the same size as the current Golf. Stackman says the model will offer a plug-in hybrid variant, and the I.D. will replace the current e-Golf EV.

The carmaker also is planning an I.D.-badged crossover and compact van in coming years to kick off its aggressive “Roadmap E” program. The initiative will introduce more than 80 electrified models across VW Group’s eight brands by 2025.