Will the new Mk7 see a resurgence in GTi sales?

[Gung-Ho]

Or will GTi sales continue to tumble? 

Its apparent that GTi sales are a far cry from the glory days of the Mk4 which sold over 17,000 units in 1999. But over the years GTi sales have declined due to stiffer competition from both outside & inside the VAG group... coupled with the fact that hot hatches are nowadays less desirable.

Even when travelling around, I rarely ever pass another GTi coming the other way.  Will the new Mk7 buck the trend or has the GTi become too expensive & appeal only to a 'niche' market?

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=27208

[Exonian]

The glowing reviews are reminiscent of the mk5 launch. However the ordering mess is more reminiscent of the mk6 era so VW don't seem to have moved on there.

But hot hatch sales depend an awful lot on fads. Right now the fad seems to be white Nissan and Kia pseudo 4x4s and surprisingly the pig ugly Juke seems to be a massive seller. My stepmum has just traded my dad's Jetta in for one.

Having been around GTIs since the 80s myself (on and off but mostly on) I can very much remember the rise and declines in sales during various stages of model production.

All it will take is something like Top Gear doing a rave review to see orders go through the roof. Which will be a problem for VW and its very limited supply.
Good news for owners as the second hand values will climb again very suddenly.

In the mid 90s GTI sales were dead in the water until Top Gear did a 'used car test' on mk2 Golfs. I'd recently sold my much loved black big bumper GTI and suddenly saw its value go up over £1000 in a week and prices kept climbing. Not that it was any consolation to me having just sold mine!!!

I can remember in the late 80s that about 20% of all Golf production were GTIs, the UK being an especially big market.

[monkeyhanger]

Do VW want to make the GTD and GTI in large numbers? They certainly could if they wanted to, and getting a GTD makes you no worse off than getting a GT150 if you are financing the depreciation via solutions. Are they trying to make GTIs coveted items again by strictly keeping the supply of them low?
Maybe people are less inclined to get one with the general price of insurance these days (although if a quote for a MK6 GTD as a comparison for what I might get the MK7 insured for is anything to go by i'll be chuffed to bits at £236 a year, half of what I was paying for my Scirocco 2 years ago).
Some people still don't get that they can drive an expensive car relatively cheaply if the depreciation is low. My mate is gutted that he could've had a GTD for £80 a month less than the Alfa Giulietta JTD170 he's just got.

It does baffle me the number of Jukes I see around here (mainly in that metallic burgandy colour), but being 12 miles from the Nissan plant in Sunderland, i'm not sure whether the local populuation are supporting one of the biggest industrial employers in the area or whether the deals on them are so good right now. Ugly car with unreliable Renault tech under the skin, surely it is a recipe for disaster? Maybe a "faux x faux" doesn't have to look good to sell (someone should tell Audi that they've wasted their time making the "Q"s look so much better than most of the competition). Most people seem to be cutting back on their car spending - anyone wanting a premium badge on a budget is moving into an A1 where I live.

[Hawaii-Five-O]

As the reviewer in the Pistonheads article says VW has started to cannibalise itself. By bringing out the Golf R, Golf GTD, Scirocco 2.0 TSI and the Scirocco R these models have all chipped away at GTI sales. Add into the mix other hot hatchbacks like the Ford Focus ST, Vauxhall Astra VXR, Renault Megane Renaultsport, Mini Cooper Works and the BMW M135i it's no wonder sales figures are down for the Golf GTI.

It easy to forget but the likes of the A3, A-Class, 1 Series and Seat Leon weren't even a pipe dream when the Mk1, Mk2 and even Mk3 GTI's were in their pomp. Often copied never equalled eh.....

Bottoms line is there is far more competition out there now, lots more choice to temp people to spend their hard earned cash elsewhere. Also once you've thrown in a few options on a GTI its creeping towards £30k. Which if you pinch your self is a lot of money. This doesn't mean the GTI product is inferior, quite the opposite, it sounds like VW have tried really hard with the Mk7 and its getting rave reviews. Good luck to them, but, the market is looking very crowded.

[AAddict]

I just think hot hatches in general sell in much lower numbers these days, not particularly the GTI.

OT: My sister has had a Juke since release and full plans getting another in December when the 3yrs is up, she loves it and says everything else comparable is boring.

[Bill_the_Bear]

Don't knock the Juke. We make the damn things!

[JoeGTI]

Here in Ireland, the MKV GTI was a huge success, they were absolutely everywhere around 2006-2008... but the launch of the MK6 coincided with both the dreaded recession and radical changes in our motor tax system, favouring low emission diesels.
So the MK6 GTI sold in tiny numbers here... you'd definitely see a lot more GTD's (still relatively few of those too) and Scirocco's but GTI's are as rare as hens teeth.

I think the MK7 will reverse this to some degree (lower emissions for starters) but it'll never sell in the same numbers as the MK5, nowhere near it.

[CraigW]

I must admit I never saw myself coming back to a golf. I went from a mk4 golf 1.6 to a mk5 GT and then on to a TT. Since being in a position to trade in I was thinking either S3 or BMW 3 series. Then the mk7 came on the scene, highlighted by a fellow member on the TT forum. Since then I became more and more tempted the more research I did. It just appears to be overall a great package. It's by no means the quickest hot hatch but it oozes quality where others just don't, Renault, Vauxhall etc.

I think this new mk7 may buck the trend of downward sales given the great reviews its been receiving

[matchboy]

I agree Craig.  As much as I loved my previous GTI's I never thought I'd be buying another one.  I was looking at a 5 series or an XF, then saw the new GTI and thought I'm too young for those I've got to have one more blast in a hatch! 

[Poached]

Yes there's more competition and don't forget TDI sales...