Development of the battery-electric Volkswagen Golf has been suspended as increasing financial pressure has forced Volkswagen to reduce spending on future models, Autocar has reported.
“We simply cannot afford this work at present,” Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer was quoted as saying in an internal company interview obtained by German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR).
The suspension of development for the BEV Golf has been agreed upon by the Volkswagen board, according to Schäfer, but stressed that the battery-electric model had not been cancelled. “We’re pausing it, not cancelling it,” he said.
“The market environment remains extremely challenging, and special items are weighing on our result. This makes it all the more important for us to systematically continue on our chosen course and sharpen our priorities further. We are improving our cost base and optimising working capital, while maintaining a high level of investment discipline,” said Volkswagen CFO David Powels, according to Autocar.
