The first Volkswagen Golf was introduced in 1974.
Volkswagen began series production of the Golf Mk1 on 29 March 1974 at its Wolfsburg plant in West Germany, with sales beginning that spring. The new compact hatchback was designed as a modern replacement for the rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive Beetle.
The Golf represented a major technical change for Volkswagen. It used a front-mounted engine, front-wheel drive and a practical two-box hatchback body, while Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro created its crisp, angular styling. The layout helped establish the template for many later family hatchbacks.
A common mix-up is the year 1976, when the performance-focused Golf GTI appeared rather than the standard Golf itself. The Mk1 was also sold under different names in some markets, including the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, but those versions still belong to the Golf’s first generation.