A world bestseller celebrates its 50th birthday

On 29 March, just over 50 years ago, Volkswagen started production of the Golf in Wolfsburg. Nobody knew on that day in March that this compact car – the successor to the legendary Beetle – would become the most successful Volkswagen and best-selling European car of all time. It reflected the spirit of the times, gave its name to its own vehicle class, and has accompanied generations of people around the world. To date, more than 37 million units have followed 1974’s first series-production Golf. Purely in mathematical terms, this means that over 2,000 people around the world have opted to buy a new Golf every single day over the last 50 years.

The first new Golf models could be seen in dealers’ showrooms in July 1974. Where the Beetle and thus rear-mounted engines had previously dominated the scene for many decades, a new era now finally began: that of the front-mounted transverse engine. Volkswagen had already initiated this transition shortly before with the Scirocco and Passat. With the Golf, the highest-volume class now also used this new technology. 

As the successor to the legendary Beetle that had been produced more than 21.5 million times, the Golf developed by Giorgio Giugiaro and Volkswagen Design had to live up to high expectations in order to continue the success story of the most successful car of all time up to that point. And it did so in every way: customers were so impressed by the modern drive concept, variable interior and new design that the Golf had already hit the one million mark by October 1976.

In 1974, Volkswagen wrote the following about the new vehicle with its large tailgate: “The Golf offers maximum space and safety. It is uncompromisingly geared towards practicality. The low beltline gives drivers a clear overview, and the sloping bonnet ensures that the road right in front of the vehicle is visible. The rear window extends well down, making reversing much easier.” And this all still applies up to the present day for every Golf ever built.

From the very beginning, the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg and its employees also benefited from the successful start of the Golf I. To date, more than 20 million Golfs have been built in Wolfsburg alone. The 17 million Golfs built so far outside Wolfsburg have been produced in other German plants as well as in Belgium, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Slovakia and South Africa. In this sense too, the Golf is a world car.