- Volkswagen Group’s US CEO mentioned, Golf is very ‘essential’ to the model regardless of low gross sales.
- VW offered roughly 10,000 Golfs final 12 months in the US.
- The CEO additionally mentioned hatchbacks and sedans supply clients who do not need a crossover ‘one thing completely different.
It will be simple to jot down off Volkswagen as simply one other automaker swept up within the SUV craze. In any case, practically 80 p.c of VW’s US gross sales quantity in 2025 got here from crossovers, with the full-size Atlas as the highest vendor by quantity. However its US CEO needs you to know that the Golf GTI and Golf R hatchbacks will play an essential position for the foreseeable future. And sure, he sung the standard Jetta’s praises, too.
Talking to assembled media throughout a roundtable dialogue on the 2026 New York International Auto Show, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Kjell Gruner defined that the Golf’s significance goes past gross sales numbers. He mentioned:
‘Mixed, the Golf made 10,000 items roughly final 12 months within the US. So you may argue it is not that essential. [But it’s] crucial, from simply what the model stands for, simply from smiles per mile, perspective and heartbeat.’
“Each model wants these model icons, the model shapers,” Gruner mentioned of the Golf GTI and Golf R sizzling hatchbacks. “That is each R [and] GTI, however that is additionally the ID.Buzz,” he specified, mentioning VW’s electrical van which skips the 2026 mannequin 12 months stateside.
Photograph by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
Along with a symbolic one, Gruner burdened that hatchbacks and sedans have a sensible position to play within the market. “It is also then for individuals who need one thing completely different, don’t desire the SUV, like the higher fuel mileage you get, do not want all-wheel drive,” he mentioned.
Volkswagen nonetheless moved some 54,291 Jetta sedans in 2025, although that quantity fell 43.5 p.c from the 12 months prior. Whereas the standard sedan can’t match the Atlas or Tiguan’s gross sales totals, it’s roughly equal to the compact Taos crossover’s annual quantity. “The Jetta has an excellent gross sales quantity,” praised VW’s CEO.
Whereas SUVs could also be Volkswagen’s breadwinners and the majority of its product choices, don’t assume for a second that the Wolfsburg-based model is strolling away from the hatchbacks and sedans that after outlined it.
“You may’t simply do SUVs, no less than we will’t. We do not wish to,” he concluded. “In order that’s at all times going to be there for the range, for the model… with a compact automobile, you are able to do issues that you simply simply cannot do with an SUV.”
Motor1’s Take: SUVs and crossovers aren’t a one-size-fits-all resolution, and it’s refreshing to listen to an automaker acknowledge that actuality. Whereas VW eliminated the common Golf from its US lineup a number of years again, it’s refreshing to listen to it reaffirm a dedication to each performance-focused sizzling hatchbacks in addition to no-nonsense sedans.
