The Golf 8 R was revealed in November 2020, butVolkswagenSouth Africa (VWSA) recently confirmed that local sales of the flagship derivativewillonly begin during the 1st quarter of 2023. Whatare the reasonsfor the massive delay and may local-market preferences have something to do with it? Here’s what we have found out.

Cars.co.za’s social media channels light up with comments from irate and frustrated fans of the VW brand (and petrolheads in general) whenever we mention either the Golf 8 GTI or Golf 8 R. The former arrived in South Africa belatedly and,by the time that the R lands here, it will be more than 2years since its global reveal back in late 2020.

User responses suchas “VWSA doesn’t respect us” andsimilar sometimes ruder, sentimentshave dotted our social media pages in response to Golf R-related posts. But why has it taken so long for the Golf R to reach our shores? In this article, we look at the many factors that have delayed the arrival of the desirable all-wheel-drive hot hatchback.

At the local debut of the Volkswagen Tiguan R, where we also hada quick drive in the Golf R, VWSA’s Head of Group Communications, Andile Dlamini had this to say about the current stock supplyissues:“Many questions have been asked about why does it take us (VWSA) almost 3 years to get the car into the country? As you know, there are issues around semiconductors, but what has exacerbated the issue now is the supply of leather.

“What we are working on is to get as many cars into the country as possible, so that we have enough volume to bring to the market. The current plan is that Golf R retail will start in Q1 and we’re confident by then that we’ll have enough volume to meet the demand,” he added.

Production Slowdown

The source of the delays begins, well, at the beginning: production. Making a car is no longer a straightforward process especially if it’s a mass/mainstream model that’s earmarked for the global market.Teams of data scientists pore over Excel spreadsheets, trying to optimise and enhance production, while balancing costs of labour, materials, and so on.

The production line where vehicles are assembled is continually moving and workers are expected to install specific parts/modules to units being produced within a limited time period, while still maintaining safety and quality standards.

Generally, car making follows the just-in-time production model. Basically, if you’re building 10 Golfs in 24 hours, you will have 10 engines, 10 dashboards, 10 sets of wheels and so on ready for that day. The supply chain to the factory does not create surplus or plan too far ahead, and the factory doesn’t have the floor space to stockpile a massiveinventory of partssourced from around the world.

There’s additional complexity due to the components for vehicle assembly not being available right next to the factory. Companies such as Faurecia and Aptiv, plus many others,supply parts for vehicle assembly across all brandsand, you guessed it– they’re battling with their own supply issues.

VW factory in Wolfsburg

A modern vehicle requires kilometres of cabling to link all its electronic elements, commonly known as the wiring harness. Ukraine-based firms used to supplythose to the Volkswagen Group (VAG) until war broke out in thatcountry (in fact, VAG was one of the biggest clients of those firms, which is why its production has been disrupted so severely). Car firms have had to scramble to enlist new suppliers elsewhere, but such a switchover is complex and time-consuming.

You’ve probably worked out the net result of delays/shortages of components– if the parts required for buildingcompleted vehicles are not available on time, then production grinds to a halt. Right now, the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany that produces the Golf and Tiguan is on short time, which is where workers’hours and pay are reduced proportionately. The factory is still making vehicles, just in far fewer numbers and at a slower rate.

> Read: How will the Russia-Ukraine War affect SA car buyers?

Semiconductor Shortage Continues

The other major problem affecting the motorindustry is the semiconductor chip shortage, which is ongoing. The majority of these chips are sourced from Asia (Taiwan in particular)and demand for these comes from more than just the automotive sector. Products such as smartphones and laptops also require chipsand, just to compound things, a few semiconductor chip production facilities have suffered fire damage, which has resulted in reducedfactory outputs.

Some things – as minor as switches or buttons – have not been readily available either. Componentsmade in China have been delayed for a long time because the Chinese government has a habit of locking down entire suburbs of its big cities if just a single Covid-19 case is detected.

The harbour of Shanghai is a global hub for raw materials and has been closed either entirely or running on severely limited capacity. Now that things are improving, the subsequent clearing of the backlog has played havoc with shipping schedules. Don’t forget the container trucks that are delivering parts and components to the harbour too, they’ve also been subjectto delays.

> Read: The car chip crisis: How do we deal with the semiconductor shortage?

Some brands have attempted to work around this, by “de-contenting” or “de-speccing” vehicles for specific markets to get the production line moving/cars to customers sooner.Stellantis has tried this with its Peugeot lineup, by removing digital instrument clusters, wireless charging pads, sunroofs,electric tailgates and even the audio system in exchange for a cheaper purchase price and/or reduced cost or free services.

South Africans don’t want de-specced cars

Both Volkswagen and Audi have done this too in some markets, like Australia, but the South Africanmarket is very particular when it comes to these features. At the recent local debut of the Audi RS3, representatives from that brand told us South Africa could have had the RS3 sooner, but it would lackkey features such as a panoramic sunroof, leather trimand digital dashboard. When you’re paying top dollar for a premium product, you expect a long list of standard features.

These switches need semi-conductor chips, as does the digital dashboard behind it

This is one of the reasons why the European market has already received the Golf R. If you look at VWUK’s configurator, the Golf R offered there rides on much smaller (18-inch) wheels,has fabric upholstery and lacksa number of features that are standard in the SA-spec vehicles. Could you imagine a “stripped out”Golf R landing in SA? The social media backlash would be brutal and VWSA knows Golf R customers want highly-specced vehicles.

It’s interesting to note that when you try to configure a European Volkswagen, you’re greeted by this message: “We’re sorry that due to global supply chain issues and a few component shortages, delivery times on some of our model lines are currently longer than we would like. The crisis in the Ukraine is also disrupting supply of certain components. While our primary concern is for the humanitarian crisis in the area, the situation may lead to further delays. We hope you will appreciate we are working hard to mitigate the impacts and deliver vehicles as quickly as possible.”

Fabric seats are not good enough for SA customers

In the case of the Golf GTI and Golf R units destined for South Africa, production has been affected by a combination of a shortage of wiring harnesses,semiconductors and other components. What’s more, werecentlylearnt that there’s a shortage of leather for sportsseats too. We understand the lack ofVienna leather seats in the Golf GTI has forced Volkswagen SA to offer retro-looking tartan Jacara seats and those units will be hitting local showrooms soon.

Minimal units of the Golf GTI have made landfall in South Africaand that’s despite the fact that VWSA delayed its retail operations for the 8th-generation hot hatch to build up a good supply of vehicles for the purpose of executing a thoroughproduct rollout. There’s no point in hosting a launch event for us and other media outlets to generate hype and leads, with only 50 cars in storage. They’d be gone in a few days, and you’d have many frustrated customers.

The fallout – GTIs are being ‘flipped’

Sadly, the Golf 8 GTI continues to be hampered by production issues and units are tricklinginto our market. Although the GTI’s recommended retail price is R717600, we’ve seen units listed ataround R900 000 online(see the screenshotof Cars.co.za listing pageabove). Such is the lawof supply and demand, that the same is likely to happen to the Golf R.

The media fleet units of the Golf R that we drove locally in early October 2022 have been sitting in storage becausean insufficient number of vehicles have been produced or made their way onto a car carrier for shipping to the Republic. There’s a strong likelihood that the few units that do arrive early next year will besnapped up by opportunistic buyers (car flippers) and sold at huge markups, either privately,via consignment or as stockat independent car dealers.

A poverty-spec Golf 8 R just won’t do.

Summary

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted virtually the entire world, not least the motor industry. It brought the world’s production of everything to a standstill through lockdowns, which had created shortages, backlogs and bottlenecksand there’s very little to indicate that the situation will improve much over the coming months. The just-in-time production model is under scrutiny as car brandstake their learnings from the pandemic/Ukraine conflict and seek deeper efficiency.

We’ll feelthe knock-on effects for some time to come.While VWSA continues to be plagued by stock issues across its portfolio, the Kariega-based firm is by no means the only one struggling to satisfy the demand for specific models.

Ford South Africa, for example, is struggling to get car carrier ships to Thailand where the Everest and Ranger Raptor are being assembled, so expect delays/shortages of those products. There’s still a massive waiting list for the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 and other imported Toyota vehicles.

So, what are your options? Well, you’re most likely to have watched Ciro De Siena and Ashley Oldfield test the Volkswagen Golf 8 R to whet your appetites. If you’re keen on R ownership, you’re in for a wait as VWSA attempts to securemore stock before beginning retail operations in the first quarter of 2023. If you’re impatient and willing to stretch the budget, then consider the Volkswagen Tiguan R, which also has the 235 kW 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine.

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