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How many left / Volkswagen

How many Volkswagen Golfs are left in New Zealand?

45,753still registered in New Zealand

Common 1 in 102 on the road Built 1974-2026 European

Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.

The car that replaced the Beetle. Launched in 1974 with crisp styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Golf swapped the rear air-cooled engine for a water-cooled one driving the front wheels, and set the template for the modern family hatchback. More than 35 million have been built over eight generations.

Still on the road, by model year

The most are from 2014: 3,754 still registered. Every year is listed under the chart.

1974: 1 still registered1975: 6 still registered1976: 7 still registered1977: 6 still registered1978: 6 still registered1979: 2 still registered1980: 15 still registered1981: 15 still registered1982: 33 still registered1983: 17 still registered1984: 22 still registered1985: 29 still registered1986: 23 still registered1987: 50 still registered1988: 50 still registered1989: 51 still registered1990: 38 still registered1991: 30 still registered1992: 13 still registered1993: 24 still registered1994: 36 still registered1995: 29 still registered1996: 38 still registered1997: 196 still registered1998: 146 still registered1999: 301 still registered2000: 300 still registered2001: 416 still registered2002: 423 still registered2003: 964 still registered2004: 1,276 still registered2005: 2,086 still registered2006: 2,843 still registered2007: 2,899 still registered2008: 2,753 still registered2009: 2,937 still registered2010: 3,620 still registered2011: 3,255 still registered2012: 2,832 still registered2013: 3,738 still registered2014: 3,754 still registered2015: 2,359 still registered2016: 1,903 still registered2017: 1,321 still registered2018: 1,073 still registered2019: 1,012 still registered2020: 479 still registered2021: 654 still registered2022: 417 still registered2023: 336 still registered2024: 315 still registered2025: 422 still registered2026: 181 still registered
19742026
Every model year
Model yearStill registered
19741
19756
19767
19776
19786
19792
198015
198115
198233
198317
198422
198529
198623
198750
198850
198951
199038
199130
199213
199324
199436
199529
199638
1997196
1998146
1999301
2000300
2001416
2002423
2003964
20041,276
20052,086
20062,843
20072,899
20082,753
20092,937
20103,620
20113,255
20122,832
20133,738
20143,754
20152,359
20161,903
20171,321
20181,073
20191,012
2020479
2021654
2022417
2023336
2024315
2025422
2026181

By generation

How many of each generation are still registered.

Which oneBuiltLeftGrade
Second generation · Mk21983–1992214Scarce
Third generation · Mk31991–2002446Scarce
Fourth generation · Mk41997–20063,126Uncommon
Fifth generation · Mk52003–200911,111Common
Sixth generation · Mk62008–201610,370Common
Seventh generation · Mk72012–202114,900Common
Eighth generation · Mk8since 20192,308Uncommon

By badge

The versions the register records, most numerous first.

Which oneBuiltLeftGrade
GTI7,752Uncommon
Highline3,611Uncommon
Comfortline3,001Uncommon
R1,522Uncommon
R32 · 3.2 L927Scarce
R-Line835Scarce
Variant749Scarce
2.0 FSI716Scarce
GT615Scarce
2.0 TDI407Scarce
Life342Scarce
e-Golf317Scarce
1.9 TDI299Scarce
CABRIOLET294Scarce

What Common means

Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 45,753 still registered, the Volkswagen Golf is Common: the grade for cars with 8,000 or more left.

By how many are left it ranks 1st of the 48 Volkswagen models and 21st of all 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.

The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.

Seen one?

Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.

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