New Volkswagen Golf hit with software glitch

European deliveries of the all-new Mk8 Volkswagen Golf have been halted after a problem with its software was discovered.

The technical gremlin, said to have been identified during routine quality checks, is said to relate to the car's ability to make emergency calls – a feature mandated by strict EU legislation since 2018.

As well as halting deliveries, Volkswagen is considering a mass recall for the thousands of cars already shipped to European customers.

The glitch is unlikely to affect Australia, where the new Volkswagen Golf is due on sale late this year. However, the new technical issue adds to the Golf's delays in Europe, where earlier this year another problem was found with the hatchback's advanced features, including its over-the-air software updates.

Volkswagen is yet to reveal how many cars may be affected by the latest issue but previously said a software update won't be available until the middle of June, at the earliest.

Production at its Wolfsburg plant will continue in the meantime, but manufactured car will be stored at an undisclosed location until the software update is ready.