CARmag.co.za recently broke the news Volkswagen South Africa had discontinued the Golf GTD. And now we’ve received information from the local arm of the German brand on the reasons behind the decision.

“Customer uptake of the GTD has been slow. The model has been phased out in order to rationalise the Golf range and focus on our best sellers, GTI and R,” VW SA told us.

Interestingly, although we know the German brand is gearing up to start building the upcoming Golf 8, VW SA added the “end of the production of the current Golf is in 2020”.

As we pointed out in our original story, the Golf GTD was recently removed from the Wolfsburg-based firm’s local website.

It had slotted into VW SA’s range below the Golf GTI, with its 2,0-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel engine offering 130 kW and 350 N.m to the front axle via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The automaker claimed a combined fuel economy of 5,9 L/100 km, a 0-100 km/h time of 7,4 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h.

The GTD-badged Golf launched in South Africa in July 2017 at the price of R506 700, fitted as standard with 18-inch "Sevilla" alloys, sports suspension, dark red LED tail-lamps (with dynamic turn signals), LED headlamps, leather sports seats (with a heating function up front) and an eight-inch touchscreen system.

It scored 84/100 in our subsequent road test (a single point behind the GTI), became the target of a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority and even took on its V6-powered Amarok sibling on the drag strip. Before its recent removal from VW SA’s website, it was listed at R529 200.

The local Golf 7 range thus now comprises only petrol models, in the form of two 1,0 TSI variants, a single 1,4 TSI derivative, the aforementioned GTI and the flagship Golf R (the latter now boasting the full-fat 228 kW output).

Original article from Car