Volkswagen Brings Classic Names to Its New Electric Range
Volkswagen sets the course for its future model names with a new naming strategy that transfers familiar combustion-model designations to its all-electric ID. Family. Volkswagen will launch the first model, the ID. Polo, in 2026, and the concept car bears the name ID. 2all.
Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, Head of the Brand Group Core and member of the Group Board of Management: “Our model names are firmly anchored in people’s minds. They stand for a strong brand and embody characteristics such as quality, timeless design and technologies for all. That’s why we’re moving our well-known names into the future. The ID. Polo is just the beginning.”
Volkswagen will transfer more established names to the electric portfolio with each new model generation, while all vehicles with conventional drives will continue to run under their previous names. With this strategy, Volkswagen brings together the worlds of electric and combustion engines, helping customers navigate the brand’s product range more easily in the future.
The designation ID. Stands for advanced technologies and electric mobility, while the Polo has always stood for quality, safety and the democratisation of innovations. The new ID. Polo combines these characteristics and will launch under its new name in the Polo’s 50th anniversary year as the first model of this strategy. Martin Sander, Member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales: “Our cars often accompany people for many years – they shape memories and stages of life. A model like the Polo shows just how powerful a name can be: it stands for reliability, personality and history. That’s precisely why we are again giving our ID. Models that evoke emotions and are rooted in people’s everyday lives. Electric mobility should not only be progressive, but also accessible and personal.”
The second future ID. The model for the small-car segment will evoke special emotions. Martin Sander: “We are bringing one of our strongest brands, the GTI, into the electric world and also launching in 2026, the ID. The GTI Concept2 model will go into production as the ID. Polo GTI1. It will offer outstanding dynamics and plenty of driving pleasure.”
The still-camouflaged ID. Polo and ID. The Polo GTI will make its first public appearance worldwide at IAA MOBILITY in Munich (September 8-14). On 7 September, Volkswagen will unveil the concept vehicle for its electric compact SUV, the new ID. CROSS Concept1, in a world premiere. The production version, the ID. Cross1 will launch at the end of 2026 as the electric counterpart to the T-Cross.
For Volkswagen, the introduction of smaller, more compact electric vehicles marks the start of a new era. It will make electric driving more affordable than ever, led by models such as the ID. Polo and ID. Cross. These models show that Volkswagen responds closely to customer feedback. Customers will appreciate the high level of quality, featuring soft materials, an intelligent mix of digital and physical control, such as buttons and knobs in the steering wheel and cockpit, as well as an intuitive operating concept.
Volkswagen introduced the ID. 3 in 2018 to designate the stand-alone all-electric product range in the brand portfolio. The first model, launched as the ID.3, was followed by further models, differentiated by numbers according to vehicle segment. The largest model is the ID.7, available as a saloon and an estate, and it currently leads the market in Germany and Europe.
