- Volkswagen Group US CEO says the Golf is ‘important’ to the brand despite its low sales.
- VW sold about 10,000 Golfs last year in the United States.
- The CEO also said the hatchback and sedan offer something different to customers who don’t want a crossover.
It’s easy to overlook Volkswagen as just another automaker crazy about SUVs. After all, nearly 80 percent of VW’s U.S. sales volume in 2025 will come from crossovers, with the full-size Atlas being the top seller by volume. But the company’s US CEO wants you to know that the Golf GTI and Golf R hatchbacks will play an important role in the future. And yes, he also sings the praises of the humble Jetta.
Speaking to gathered media during a roundtable discussion at the 2026 New York International Auto Show, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Kjell Gruner explained that the importance of the Golf goes beyond sales numbers. He says:
‘Combined, the Golf made 10,000 units last year or so in the US. So you could say it’s not that important. [But it’s] really matters, from what the brand stands for, from smiles per mile, perspective and heartbeat.’
“Every brand needs these brand icons, the brand shapers,” Gruner said of the hot hatchbacks Golf GTI and Golf R. “Those are both R [and] GTI, but that’s also ID.Buzz,” he explained, mentioning VW’s electric van that skipped the 2026 model year in America.
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
As well as being symbolic, Gruner emphasized that hatchbacks and sedans have a practical role in the market. “It’s also for people who want something different, don’t want an SUV, like better gas mileage, don’t need all-wheel drive,” he said.
Volkswagen will still move about 54,291 Jetta sedans in 2025, although that number is down 43.5 percent from the previous year. While the humble sedan can’t match the sales totals of the Atlas or Tiguan, it roughly matches the annual volume of the Taos compact crossover. “The Jetta has a very good sales volume,” praised the VW CEO.
While SUVs may be Volkswagen’s backbone and the lion’s share of its product offering, don’t think for a moment that the Wolfsburg-based brand will abandon the hatchbacks and sedans that were once its hallmark.
“It can’t be just any SUV, at least we can’t. We don’t want to,” he concluded. “So there will always be for variety, for brands… with a compact car, you can do things you can’t do with an SUV.”
Motor Pickup1: SUVs and crossovers are not a universal solution, and it’s refreshing to hear automakers acknowledge that fact. Although VW dropped the regular Golf from its U.S. lineup a few years ago, it’s refreshing to hear it reaffirm its commitment to performance-focused hot hatchbacks as well as no-nonsense sedans.
