Not too long ago, the Volkswagen Group had confirmed its intentions for a massive layoff, a reduction that reportedly stood at 50,000 jobs. But along with this, VW also intended to reduce its global lineup across brands, although it did not take any names back then.

Now, a new report from German publication Bild has listed a few specific models that are likely to face the axe. This begins with the Volkswagen Jetta, which is rather surprising, as Kjell Gruner, the VW Group of America CEO, in April, had called the Golf the "heartbeat" of the brand and the Jetta, a core part of the lineup.

On the Skoda side of things, the Fabia is said to be on the chopping block. However, the Fabia’s VW equivalent, the Polo, is missing from the list. That said, some rumours suggest the Polo could be nearing its demise too, despite what it means to Volkswagen.

The successor models of the VW Taos and the Cupra Raval are also said to be in the line of danger.

The Porsche and Audi side of things is where things get really interesting, with several surprise entrants and glaring omissions among the list of models supposed to be discontinued, based on the BILD report.

Enthusiasts will especially be hurt on hearing that Cayenne Coupe and, strangely enough, the Taycan are also reportedly set to be discontinued.

We say strangely because Porsche’s first fully electric car shares the J2 platform with the Audi e-tron GT, but it is not among the models listed anywhere in the report. Instead, Audi is said to be discontinuing the Q6 e-tron Sportback and the Q5 Sportback.

There is also no word about the upcoming three-row flagship SUV, codenamed K1, which was earlier said to be on hold. However, with the launch of the upcoming Audi Q9, with which it is likely to share its underpinnings, the K1 could eventually see the light of day. 

Lamborghini and Bentley are (thankfully) missing from this list. While both manufacturers reversed their plans to go EV-only, Bentley is still going forward with its electric SUV, the Torcal, which was finally teased just a few days ago. Meanwhile, Lamborghini also rolled out its Urus SE Performante just a few days ago.

We only hope VW’s reduction plans do not affect the Mk9 Golf’s development. 

What the Mk9 Volkswagen Golf could look like

In a recent interaction with Motor1 Spain, Kai Grünitz, the head of technical development at VW, said that the final design for the Mk9 Golf is nearly complete and will draw inspiration from what is widely considered one of the best-looking Golfs.

"It’s reminiscent of the Golf Mk4, which was a big step forward," said Grünitz. "But it’s a modern-looking vehicle, a timeless-looking vehicle. I think you’re going to love it. From a design standpoint, our new electric Golf is already 96–97 percent done. 

"We started with a proportions model with Andreas Mindt (now Head of Design, VW Group), and it was already so good that Thomas Schäfer (VW CEO) and I joined in and said, 'Hey, don’t touch anything.'"

Grünitz also confirmed the current-gen Golf will continue to exist alongside the all-electric Mk9, which the new SSB platform will underpin. The current Golf will transition into a plug-in hybrid model. 

Read more at Motor Culture  

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Yash Kotak