A generation of god cars say goodbye! Golf fuel version was exposed to be discontinued, experts: new energy vehicles are the general trend

Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Zhang Xu

Following Volkswagen's discontinuation of the Beetle, in 2023, a number of "god cars" that have been selling for decades will be revealed to say goodbye to consumers.

Recently, Thomas Schaefer, head of the Volkswagen brand, said in an interview with the media that Volkswagen will not continue to develop the follow-up model of the fuel version of the Golf, and the Golf era born in 1974 has come to an end. In addition, according to media reports, some Toyota dealers in Japan received a notice of suspension of production of Camry, and will stop accepting orders at the end of the year and stop sales in phases.

The eighth generation Golf, picture from the official website of FAW-Volkswagen.

Will the suspension of Camry sales in Japan affect the Chinese market? In this regard, Toyota China responded to Times Finance and said: It involves production plans and will not comment.

Camry is popular all over the world, but it is discontinued in the base camp?

So far, Toyota Camry models have a history of 43 years and have been sold to more than 100 countries and regions around the world. By the end of 2022, the cumulative sales exceeded 21 million units, which can be said to be an evergreen tree in the automotive industry.

In 2006, GAC Toyota introduced the sixth-generation Camry. Before that, its name was "Jiamay", and in 2005, for every 10 cars imported, one was Camry, and it often had to be bought at a markup. With the slogan of "from Jiamay, higher than Jiamay", Camry won the annual sales championship of mid-to-high-end sedans in 2007 and 2008, breaking many records of domestic mid-to-high-end sedans.

In 2022, the Camry reached new highs. According to retail data from the Passenger Association, Toyota Camry will become the domestic annual mid-size car sales champion with sales of 242225 units in 2022, ahead of Honda Accord and Nissan Teana.

GAC Toyota Camry.

In the U.S. market, the Camry is equally strong. Since 1988, Camry's annual sales in the United States have never been less than 200,000 vehicles, and in 2022, the Camry sold a total of 295201 vehicles in the United States, and by the end of 2022, the cumulative global sales of Camry exceeded 21 million vehicles, of which the US market contributed 13 million vehicles. The U.S. remains the Camry's number one market.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Camry is Toyota's "popular fried chicken". In Japan, Toyota's stronghold, Camry's performance is hardly optimistic. Since its launch, the Camry has sold only 1.3 million units in the Japanese market. In 2022, the Camry sold about 600,000 vehicles worldwide, while Japan sold less than 6,000 vehicles, accounting for only 1%.

In the eyes of industry insiders, the sluggish sales are due to Toyota's limited production capacity in Japan, and Japanese consumers prefer SUVs and small cars.

Although the Camry was revealed to be discontinued in Japan, this obviously has little impact on the global market. Not only that, but the 2023 Toyota Camry was launched on March 25. On April 9, Times Finance consulted many Toyota 4S stores in Beijing and Guangzhou as a consumer, and got the reply that "Camry sold very well, did not receive a notice of discontinuation" and "It is impossible to stop production, this is Toyota's best-selling car".

In the U.S. market, the Camry has been the best-selling model for 15 consecutive years since 2001. Today's Camry has not stopped the development and production of new cars, and at the same time, Camry's competing model Honda Accord will also be replaced in 2022.

Toyota pure electric car bZ4X.

In addition to adjusting models and production plans, Toyota is also accelerating its electrification process. On April 7, Toyota senior executives outlined the plans laid out by the new leadership team at a briefing and said that the company will also set up a new division to focus on the development of the next generation of pure electric vehicles.

Toyota Motor will launch 10 new pure electric models by 2026 and will achieve a goal of selling 1.5 million electric vehicles per year by 2026, aiming for significant growth in a market that has long been left behind by competitors.

Golf fuel swan song?

Another "god car" that has recently announced the discontinuation of production is the Golf from the Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen was revealed that it does not plan to develop a new generation of internal combustion engine versions of the Golf model; However, it plans to retain the name Golf in future electric models, but it could be released as early as 2028.

Regarding the discontinuation of the Golf fuel version, Times Finance contacted FAW-Volkswagen and Volkswagen China, but neither party responded.

Public information shows that in 1974, the world faced the first oil crisis. Volkswagen took advantage of the trend to launch the Golf as an economical sedan, which has produced 1 million Golf vehicles in just two years thanks to its durable and fuel-efficient features.

In 2003, FAW-Volkswagen domesticated the fourth-generation Golf, and this model officially met domestic consumers. In 2008, the sixth-generation Golf became a classic, with a simple and powerful exterior design, which to a certain extent represents the design direction of Volkswagen in the next few years.

At present, the eighth-generation Golf is on sale, and according to the data of the Passenger Association, the Golf will be sold at 81,754 units in 2022, second only to Sagitar, Bora and Magotan in sales among FAW-Volkswagen. At a time when the hatchback fuel vehicle market is shrinking sharply, Golf has such achievements, which shows its position in the hearts of the Chinese people.

Although the Golf has been updated to the eighth generation, it is more about changes in the electrical architecture and software, not much at the mechanical level. In the context of the Volkswagen Group's accelerated electrification process, the classic model of the Golf also has to say goodbye.

It's worth noting that although the official electric version of the Golf will be launched in the coming years, Volkswagen already has an electric car similarly positioned. On March 16, Volkswagen unveiled the ID.2 all concept. The concept car is positioned as a pure electric A-class hatchback, based on the Volkswagen MEB Entry front-wheel drive platform, which is almost an all-electric version of the Golf in the eyes of the outside world.

With the advancement of Volkswagen's electrification strategy, more and more models have come to an end. In 2022, Volkswagen announced the discontinuation of the Passat production in the United States; In March 2023, VW announced that it would stop producing the Passat sedan in Europe, retaining only the touring version in the future, and will launch a new facelift in September this year.

It is reported that the reason for the suspension of Passat production in Europe is firstly because the European Parliament passed a bill to stop the sale of fuel engine vehicles in Europe in 2035, and secondly, to make room for Volkswagen's pure electric car ID.7 and accelerate the electrification process.

For the suspension of the "divine car", Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, said to Times Finance: "The suspension of production does not mean the death of the Golf, and in the future, Volkswagen will launch an electric version of the Golf to take over the position of the fuel version." In the long run, more and more automobile brands will abandon the fuel vehicle version and switch to new energy or even pure electric vehicles, which is the general trend of the industry. ”