European Class Struggle: SUV-Crossovers De-class Golf-Class, Emissions Edge Up

I had a hand in establishing the “Golf Class” as a market segment in Europe: As a very young and very long-haired hippie copywriter, I worked on the car’s launch campaign in 1973. Now, to my unending sorrow, I must read that the Golf Class is damaged goods.

For decades, the top of the European bell curve sat smack in the middle of the “Golf Class,” AKA the “lower medium” market segment. (There are more market segments than segments of brie in Europe, prepare to be confused.) Underpinning Volkswagen’s dominance in Europe, the Golf class’s namesake, the Volkswagen Golf, still commands the biggest share. However, a reign that feels longer than that of Queen Elizabeth II is coming to an end. Small SUVs and crossovers are poised to unseat the Golf Class, much to the joy, and worries, of European automakers.

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