VW has officially announced that its first-ever electric GTI model will make its international debut in 2026.
The Wolfsburg-based automaker chief of design, Andreas Mindt, recently posted on social media that the Golf GTI has sold a grand total of 2.8 million units since it first arrived on the scene in 1975, and that audiences can expect the next evolution of the sporty nameplate to launch roughly two years from now.
What we know so far
Mindt’s post explained that the original Golf GTI Mk1 was introduced 48 years ago in 1975 and that it initially had a production run of only 5,000 units – a modest sum given the millions of examples that the hatch has since spawned over the decades.
The all-electric version will therefore arrive in line with the badge’s 50th anniversary and, to contrast how far the car has come, Mindt’s post included a sketch of the original model versus the new one.
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The battery-powered Golf is still a ways from being physically unveiled, however, in September last year the automaker published images of the ID. GTI Concept, giving fans their first impression of what to expect in the coming years.
The sketch in the post appears to be identical to the renderings provided by the company, lending credence to the idea that the final product will not stray far from what’s already been shown, and Volkswagen has already trademarked a new GTI logo that replaces the I with a lightning bolt to better reflect its new underpinnings, according to CARmag.
Details on the electrified hot hatch are slim pickings at present owing to how it’s still in the early days of development, but what has been confirmed is that it will use the brand’s new Modular Electric Drive (MEB) platform, and will be nearly identical in size to the eighth-generation Golf.
A few of the teased features include a new heads-up display, a fully-digital dash with two screens for the driver and infotainment, and the return of the nameplate’s signature checkered fabric Sports seats.
No information has been provided thus far regarding its powertrain, unfortunately.
As for the petrol Golf, it is expected to receive one final update this year before it is put to pasture owing to Europe’s looming ban on internal combustion engines (ICE) within the next decade.
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