Volkswagen is updating its naming technique for electrical fashions by reverting to correct names, taking a web page out of its previous playbook. As a substitute of the “e” suffix beforehand used on vehicles just like the e-Golf or China’s e-Lavida, Wolfsburg will now use “ID.” Consequently, the 2023 ID.2all idea will launch subsequent 12 months because the ID. Polo. Equally, the ID. GTI idea will evolve into the ID. Polo GTI manufacturing mannequin. In the meantime, the gasoline-powered Polo will proceed unchanged.
The 2 electrical ideas have matured into near-production prototypes, although VW remains to be maintaining them underneath colourful camouflage. The usual automobile’s official reveal is scheduled for Might 2026. Each disguised subcompact hatchbacks might be displayed subsequent week on the IAA Mobility Present in Munich, alongside a equally sized electrical crossover idea. The common ID. Polo will go on sale subsequent fall with two battery sizes and three output ranges.
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Supply: Volkswagen
Its hotter GTI sibling will arrive earlier than the top of subsequent 12 months with a better output: 223 horsepower. It gained’t be the primary GTI and not using a combustion engine, as Peugeot has already crushed VW to market with the e-208 GTi, a direct rival to the flagship ID. Polo. Electrical scorching hatches have gotten a factor in Europe, with examples such because the Abarth 500e, Cupra Born VZ, and the lesser-known MG 4 XPower.
All ID. Polo variations might be front-wheel drive, utilizing a single motor mounted on the entrance. The MEB+ platform underpinning the electrical supermini differs from bigger fashions (ID.3 and up), which use both rear- or all-wheel drive. At 159.5 inches (4053 millimeters) lengthy, the electrical Polo is sort of the identical size as its combustion counterpart. Nonetheless, it’s barely wider at 71.5 inches (1816 millimeters) and predictably taller at 60.2 inches (1530 millimeters) as a result of battery.
The bespoke EV structure allowed engineers to stretch the wheelbase to 102.3 inches (2600 millimeters), giving the cabin area akin to the Golf’s regardless of the ID. Polo’s smaller footprint. VW highlights commonplace DC charging for a newly developed battery pack rated at 278 miles (450 kilometers) within the WLTP cycle, at the very least in response to the ID.2all idea.
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Supply: Volkswagen
In Germany, the bottom ID. Polo will price underneath €25,000 (about $29,000 at present alternate charges), with increased trims providing know-how normally present in bigger vehicles. VW guarantees options like computerized lane modifications, site visitors gentle recognition, a 360-degree digital camera, and a parking assistant with a reminiscence perform.
The ID. Polo leads VW’s new naming route. The smaller ID. Every1, unveiled earlier this 12 months as an idea, will enter manufacturing in 2027 as a €20,000 ($23,000) mannequin with a brand new identify. It stays unclear whether or not VW will revive acquainted nameplates (Lupo and up! spring to thoughts) or introduce a recent designation, although it definitely gained’t be ID.1.
CEO Thomas Schäfer says, “The ID. Polo is only the start [of] transferring our well-known names into the longer term.” It now appears more and more possible that the ID.3 will change into the ID. Golf, the ID.4 the ID. Tiguan, and the ID.7 the ID. Passat. The transfer is smart, as these conventional nameplates carry many years of heritage VW intends to leverage.
Wanting additional forward, the query is the place VW will go as soon as the combustion period ends, if it ends. Assuming gasoline fashions will disappear in the future, we’re questioning whether or not the “ID.” prefix might be retired, leaving simply Polo, Golf, Passat, and so forth. For now, nevertheless, “ID.” is required to tell apart electrical fashions from standard ones. Whereas the names will align, the automobiles stay mechanically completely different, constructed on separate platforms.
