All-new Golf 8 GTI has officially gone on sale in Mzansi
By Khulekani On Wheels / on Sep 1st, 2021 / in Car News, featured
By Khulekani Dumisa
AVIS was the first customer to take delivery of the Golf 8 GTI in South Africa. The new Golf 8 GTI is priced from R669,300 and comes with 11kW more power than its predecessor. The 2.0l turbocharged front-wheel drive engine now develops 180kW and a torque of 370Nm. The four-cylinder engine is coupled with a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. It takes 6.4 seconds to complete the 0 – 100km/h sprint.
Avis partnership
“Part of our success as a brand is attributed to sales to the rental industry. Volkswagen has the highest passenger car share of the rental market which is 34%. AVIS remains a key strategic partner for the Volkswagen brand because it accounts for 50% of our rental channel sales,” said Steffen Knapp, head of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand.
Over 7,000 units are sold to AVIS each year, which is approximately 10% of Volkswagen’s total annual vehicles sold in South Africa.
The partnership between Volkswagen and AVIS began in January 1971 with the delivery of 96 Beetle 1300s. A year later, Avis tripled the order which included 1600cc Beetles, Type 4s and Microbuses. By 1981, Volkswagen has sold its 10,000th car to AVIS which was a Golf. In 1996, AVIS became Volkswagen’s biggest customer when a record number of 3,805 vehicles were delivered to them during that year. In 2008, Volkswagen delivered the 100,000th vehicle to AVIS and to date over 200,000 units have been delivered to AVIS.
50-year partnership
“2021 is a special year for Volkswagen and AVIS as we celebrate our 50-year partnership. We are proud of how the partnership between the two organisations has grown since the humble beginnings in 1971. We are also excited to be the first customer to take delivery of the Golf 8 GTI in South Africa which will be an important model of our AVIS Luxury Cars fleet,” Rebone Motsatsi, AVIS Executive: Car Rental Operations.
In 2020, the Golf range was No.1 in the A Hatch segment with a share of 29.1%. The Golf 8 GTI is set to continue the success of the hot hatch and to date over 1,000 customers have shown interest in the GTI since pre-orders went live on 19 July 2021.