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According to Khabar Khodro, Volkswagen has halted deliveries of the latest-generation Golf after a software problem was unearthed, the company has confirmed.
German media initially reported over the weekend that deliveries had been stopped. Its sister car, the new Skoda Octavia, is said to be similarly affected.
Autocar has now obtained a statement from VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, confirming the reports.
"In the course of internal investigations, we have determined that individual Golf 8 vehicles may experience unreliable data transmission from the software on the control unit or the online connectivity unit (OCU3). As a result, the full functionality of the eCall/emergency call assistant cannot be guaranteed.”
This software, mandatory by EU law for every new car sold since March 2018, can detect when an accident requires the attendance of the emergency services and contacts them automatically. VW says it has "immediately stopped delivering the Golf 8” in order to "ensure full compliance” with the regulation. Autocar is awaiting a statement from Skoda on the Octavia.
The problem, shared between the Octavia and Golf due to similar systems used, was reportedly noticed during routine checks. It has been reported that a software update to fix the issue won’t be available until the third week of June.
Deliveries have been going ahead for the Mk8 Golf in Germany for a number of weeks, although it’s thought the number was greatly reducing due to the pandemic restrictions. Similarly, some early UK cars have been delivered.
Volkswagen claims a recall and remedial software update is "pending in the next few days”.
