Volkswagen Golf Mk8.5 not coming to Malaysia 2024, says VPCM – 50th anniversary edition is of Mk8 GTI

Earlier this week, we reported on Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) managing director Dentyu Bostandzhiev’s remarks regarding the company’s planned 50th anniversary celebrations for the Golf. At the time, we assumed this meant the new Golf Mk8.5 would be coming this year, but a source at VPCM has since clarified this is not the case.

The facelifted model is not expected to arrive in Malaysia until next year at the earliest. This makes sense, as production has yet to start, and it would take time for the tooling to be installed for CKD local assembly. In case you didn’t know, the Hicom plant in Pekan, Pahang is the only facility to assemble the Golf outside VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters and FAW in China.

Instead, VPCM’s half-centenary celebrations for the Golf will involve a special edition of the current Mk8 GTI. Expect limited units to be offered with unique stickers, badging and possibly some additional equipment, as seen on past local special editions.

The later timeline for the Mk8.5’s introduction will also give VPCM a bit of a reprieve with regard to the CKD Mk8 Golf R Performance, which has yet to be launched despite being previewed back in August. When asked about the delay during the Touareg launch, Bostandzhiev said this was due to production issues related to the hot hatch’s trick all-wheel-drive system, adding that it will go on sale in “a couple of weeks.”

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