End of an era: VW Golf manual axed, including GTI, if Euro 7 emission laws pass in current form - report

Emissions regulations set to be introduced in Europe will kill off one of motoring’s longest-serving icons as we know it if they’re passed in their current form.

The Volkswagen Golf, which has been available for almost half a century with three pedals and a manual transmission, will go auto-only in its next generation as the brand sees no way to continue the manual version, which makes slightly more CO2 emissions than its automatic counterpart.

"With the next generation of the Golf, there will not be one with a manual gearshift," said Volkswagen Board Member for Technical Development Kai Grünitz, speaking to UK outlet Autocar.

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The move to delete the manual gearbox from one of the world’s best-selling cars comes as the European Union plans its set of regulations to determine the emission laws for what will likely be the last generation of internal combustion engines from 2025 onwards.

Despite calls from nations such as Italy and France to curb the strict nature of the Euro 7 laws, it will serve as a stepping stone to the eventual ban of new combustion engine cars in 2035.

The three-pedal Volkswagen Golf GTI emits 162g/km of CO2 while VW says the automatic's 160g/km is low enough to suit its quotas.

The Volkswagen Golf in manual guise makes slightly more CO2 emissions than its automatic counterpart.

In Australia, the manual gearbox hasn’t been available with a Golf GTI since the Mk7 generation, while entry-model variants of the Mk8 in manual were unpopular enough that the brand officially axed them locally in 2022.

The Golf is approaching its 50th anniversary, with the Mk1 having debuted in mid-1974, while the game-changing GTI came two years later. The current generation will need to stick around until 2025 if the inevitable 50th anniversary edition of the hot hatch is to be available in manual anywhere in the world - even if it won’t be here in Australia.