Volkswagen pulls the plug on 2020 e-Golf electric hatch

Volkswagen has apparently opted to discontinue the e-Golf in the U.S., at least for 2020, with production instead allocated to Canada. CarsDirect noticed an addition, made in late October, to an earlier press release outlining new technologies in the automaker’s 2020 lineup in which Volkswagen scratched the electric hatch and added, “No MY20 e-Golf will be available.”

A Volkswagen spokesman confirmed only that Canada will get the production allotment of 2020 models, adding, “You can still buy a MY19.”

The move comes as VW prepares to launch the ID line of dedicated electric vehicles riding atop its MEB platform: the Golf-like ID.3 for Europe, at least, with the U.S. due for the ID.4, the unofficial name for the production version of the ID. Crozz concept crossover, sometime this year. It also comes, CarsDirect notes, after the EPA had already tested the 2020 e-Golf and found that it actually delivered slightly inferior fuel economy, at 122 MPGe in the city and 104 on the highway, than its predecessor, which was rated 126 city/111 highway.

It’s not the first time the e-Golf has been rumored to be living on borrowed time as Volkswagen turned its focus to fleshing out the ID. family of EVs. Though VW sold a best-ever 4,863 examples in the U.S. last year, and the e-Golf recently passed 100,000 examples sold, it suffered by comparison to competitors like the Chevrolet Bolt or the Nissan Leaf, with a range of just 125 miles on offer from its 100-kilowatt electric motor and 35.8-kWh lithium-ion battery.

We recently saw spy shots of the ID.4 in near-production guise, suggesting it could be planning a reveal at the New York Auto Show — if it happens at all, given concerns about the Coronavirus. It’s believed to have an 83-kWh battery and two electric motors, with a range of around 250 miles.

VW spokesman Mark Gillies would not say whether the ID.3 will eventually come stateside, but said other ID. models “are under evaluation” for the U.S.

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