Volkswagen on Wednesday revealed the first official
details of its Golf 7, the upcoming replacement for its signature
compact car.
At a media event at the company's head office in Wolfsburg,
Europe's biggest carmaker said the new Golf would be 100 kilograms
lighter than its predecessor thanks to new technology. That, in turn,
would reduce the vehicle's fuel consumption.
The Golf, in its six previous incarnations, became a dominant car
on German roads and one of the country's most-exported products. More
than 29 million units have been sold over nearly four decades.
Automotive magazines have already published speculation and
unofficial pictures of the new hatchback, which resembles its
forerunners and is to be officially unveiled in Berlin on September
4.
It is to have 2 centimetres more legroom in the back seats than
its predecessor, while the luggage area would increase by 30 litres
to 380 litres.
Executives said the relaunch was a test run for a cost-saving
manufacturing method codenamed MQB that would be adopted by the whole
group, which owns a range of marques including Audi, Seat and Skoda.
"We will apply the fastest start-up curve that Volkswagen has ever
had," said chief production officer Hubert Waltl.
Fuel consumption in the new model would decline an average 13.9
per cent, Volkswagen reported.
