VW Pledges To Keep Gas-Powered GTI Into the 2030s

by Chris Teague

Published: July 31st, 2025

vw pledges to keep gas powered gti into the 2030s

Americans only see the two performance versions of the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf, but many have speculated that the automaker would electrify the car within the next few years. While that may become a reality, the company has pledged to retain internal combustion power into the 2030s.

Speaking at a Nurburgring event, VW CEO Thomas Schafer said, “Definitely in the 2030s, still strong presence of the ICE vehicles.” Sounds definitive, right? Not so fast. Schafer also said the cars could be a hybrid of some sort, noting that they would be “probably a little bit electrified.”

Volkswagen sells a plug-in hybrid version of the GTI in other markets, called the GTE. It sees 268 horsepower from its powertrain, more than America’s GTI, but less than variants sold in different countries. Americans lost the regular Golf a few years ago, leaving us with the GTI and Golf R. The 2024 model year was the last for manual transmissions in the cars destined for the U.S., leaving the excellent-but-less-engaging dual-clutch as the only option.

All of this said, VW has been clear that the next-generation cars will be EV-only. That would mean the eighth-gen Golf sticks around deep into the next decade, or until 2035 when the EU’s emissions regulations ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.

[Images: Volkswagen]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#Volkswagen #VolkswagenGolf #GolfGTI #VwGolfR

Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

More by Chris Teague

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 23 comments

Rizzle on Aug 01, 2025

I love my GTI and Golf Sportwagen, but if I could drive for 30 or 40 miles in EV mode that would be great. A PHEV GTI should already be available in NA.

1 Reply
TT on Aug 22, 2025

Interesting. I keep seeing the same names making the same negative comments about pretty much every vehicle brand that gets an article here.

Some people simply want to believe that being insulting and negative about everything is actually clever and such a "COOL" thing to do.

That would be the kid in school that most thought was funny, but he didn't really succeed later in life.

Hey, YOU do YOU, cause no one else can, nor wants to.
😊

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Mnemic Muscle cars are the only CARS still selling. Look up top 10 coupe sales from 5-6 years ago. Damn corvettes were outselling 2 door honda civics. Mustang, Challenger and Camaro were top 3 and by a huge margin, nothing else came close. With Charger being so huge there is room for Dodge to make a smaller coupe
D i wonder if the geniuses who thought building an aluminum body truck still think it’s a great idea.
D Meanwhile I am so glad my wife chose our loaded 2008 Solara Convertible, an excellent vehicle in every way, over the 2008 VW Eos. Parts are available from Toyota and third party suppliers. The top even too. It just keeps running and running well.
Bd2.0 The last thing I could see myself doing is listening to a podcast from some smelly naked old men talking about cars.
Ajla "The luxury consumer of the Nineties expected crisp analog gauges, which Cadillac was yet to provide for some years." Maybe I misunderstood this, but Eldorado did offer analog gauges for 1992.