Volkswagen Golf R-Line, GTI return to Australia

The Volkswagen Golf hatchback is back in local showrooms after a brief interlude, with the German brand advising around 1300 units are coming here soon.

However, it has made note of only the 110TSI R-Line and GTI variants returning in significant volume. Both are available to order effective immediately, with wait times decreasing to around three months “in the near future”.

The base and Life trim levels of the hatchback, as well as the wagon range, are experiencing “intermittent availability”, while the R remains off-sale.

The wagon only accounts for one in 10 Golf sales in Australia.

Volkswagen Australia has confirmed it has “unrestricted access” to the T-Roc crossover in both 140TSI R-Line and R guises, with that similarly sized model continuing to experience better supply.

The company says it has never been able to secure adequate supply of the Golf GTI relative to local demand.

It warned late last year it would record close to zero sales of the Golf range in the first quarter of 2023 as it dealt with a supply issue affecting a specific chip.

The missing chip powers the reversing camera, and Volkswagen Australia says it won’t import vehicles without this feature.

The company said first-quarter sales would consist of leftover hatchback stock, as well as the lower-volume wagon. But Volkswagen still recorded 615 sales overall, more than the related Cupra Leon (99 sales) as well as rivals like the Honda Civic (365 sales) and Peugeot 308 (55 sales).

MORE: Everything Volkswagen Golf