Golf 8, GTI TCR and other VWSA highlights for 2020
When the company that sells one in every five cars in South Africa invited us for a chat about their plans for 2020, we knew this would be the conference of all conferences. Ernest Page grabbed his notebook and pen and spent a few days in VWSA’ hubris to capture all the highlights headed our way.
How electrified is VWSA’s future?
Personally, I love electric cars. Instant acceleration and zero fuel costs make me willing to embrace it as part of my future. VW reiterated that mistakes of the past cannot be repeated and their ID electric development program is in full swing. Currently a fleet of electric Golfs are in media circulation as well as available for consumers to interact and engage with. Interestingly these electric gubbins are masked by the ubiquitous Golf 7 blueprint so that cautious buyers face only one dramatic technological change at a time.
VW has confirmed that all production electric cars of the future will be built from the ground up. Expect to see the first of a bona-fide electric ID.3 range to arrive as early as Q4 2020.
190kW amarok finally makes its way here.
It’s hard to believe that the Amarok has been around since 2010. After nearly a decade, it still looks fresh faced and just this year scooped up even more accolades in the leisure bakkie segment. The much anticipated 190kW 3.0 Tdi version is now finally on its way to our shores by Q3 of 2020. It’ll temporarily do battle with Merc’s 190kW X-Class until the unloved X-Class bows out at which point the 190kW Amarok will be crowned SA’s most powerful bakkie.
T-Roc debuts in Q3 2020
With the incredible success of VW’s latest SUV, the T-Cross, VW suspects that T-Roc will be exactly what is needed to fill what is possibly the final hole in its SUV lineup. The aggressively styled T-Roc arrives later this year with many eager to see it in T-Roc R flavour.
For T-Cross fans, a budget 1.0 model priced at lower than R300 000 will be made available later this year. Another SUV in the burgeoning mix range, the Tiguan, is due to receive a facelift by the end of 2020.
TCR finally arrives just before Golf 8
Before the Golf 8 arrives on our shores in early 2021,, the latest and greatest Golf 7.5 TCR will be released locally by Q2 this year. Pushing out 213kW and 380Nm the Golf 7’s final salvo will be limited to 300 examples in South Africa. If the iconic ClubSport is anything to go by, the TCR will be bestowed with immediate credibility by GTI devotees. Watch the second-hand prices soar…
As mentioned the much anticipated Golf 8 arrives shortly after and with SA being one of the biggest GTI markets in the world. VWSA and clients are eagerly awaiting Golf 8 GTI to resume battle with newcomers like the Hyundai I30N and upcoming BMW 128i.
Other VWSA highlights include a special edition Polo Vivo, a Volkswagen We Connect Go app and many more user experience touchpoints for 2020. VWSA believes that although the market is on a down turn, the biggest manufacturer in South Africa is prepared for all trends and tastes. Ernest Page
