That's It, Volkswagen Golf Officially Ends Production For US Market

In May 2019, Motor1.com learned that the Volkswagen Golf wouldn't be offered in America for much longer. The German automaker wouldn't confirm the news at the time, though today, the company made it official. VW announced it ended Golf production for the US market last week at its Puebla, Mexico factory. This would mark the 2021 Golf as the last sold one here since VW began selling them in the country in December 1974.

However, America won't be completely devoid of German hatchbacks. The automaker will continue to offer both the Golf GTI and the hotter Golf R here, both from the eight-generation Golf series. They will arrive for the 2022 model year and help carry the Golf name into the new decade. Both will bring updated styling inside and out, along with plenty of power under their hoods. In Europe, the GTI makes 245 horsepower (180 kilowatts), while the Golf R makes 315 hp (235 kW). Those figures could change for the US market.

Since the Golf's introduction in the US 46 years ago, which first came here as the Rabbit, the company has sold some 2.5 million Golf models in America. It didn't get its Golf name until the second-generation model arrived in 1985, though the Rabbit moniker would return for a brief time during the fifth-generation model from 2006 to 2009. The final US Golf will be the seven-generation one that rides on VW's MQB platform.

The 2021 Golf available today comes with a 1.4-liter turbocharged mill making 147 horsepower (109 kilowatts) and 184 pound-feet (249 Newton-meters) of torque paired with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic. There'll be no such entry-level model after 2021. Information about the US-bound Mk 8 Golf GTI and Golf R isn't yet available, though they likely won't stray far from what their European counterparts are offering.