Volkswagen will only give its ID electric cars classic model names if they fit the characters of the originals, according to boss Thomas Schäfer – explaining why the heavily updated ID 3, due next year, won’t be badged a Golf.

The firm is working on heavy updates for both the ID 3 and ID 4, with both EVs moving onto the upgraded 'MEB Plus' platform. But while Autocar understands the ID 4 is already being referred to internally at Wolfsburg as the ID Tiguan, the ID 3 will not adopt the ID Golf name, even though the Golf is its closest equivalent in Volkswagen's ICE line-up.

Still, Schäfer said "don't underestimate the changes" being made to the ID 3. Speaking at the Munich motor show, he added: "It's a fantastic car to drive, and we've got phenomenal feedback on that. The changes are in the interior: the criticism was usually around the first version, with the hard plastic finish and so on.

"That has been fixed already with a good first-step facelift, but now it's going to get a whole new [interior]. Then the exterior is a phenomenal package.

"It wouldn't be necessary to make a whole new car. You will see how that car will change when you see this amazing car."

With the new ID Polo and ID Cross, Volkswagen will return to using classic model names, and Schäfer promised that "we're going to roll this out whenever there's a new model or a major product change; it's going to be names from here on".

However, he added that the application of those names would depend on the models: "When you have this side by side [ICE and EV line-ups] that we have at the moment in the transitional phase, you have to have clarity in your portfolio, clarity in the model lines and familiar topics like the GTI – and the name has to be true to the DNA of that product. 

"From my point of view, it's the biggest mistake to call something something that it's not. There's some examples in the industry at the moment that you look at and say 'okay, well, I don't know why you call it that, because it's not that'.

"For us, the ID Polo now, it's a true Polo in proportions, looks, feel, drivability, and it deserves the name.

"As we go forward, if the name doesn't fit, we don't call it that. We'll give it some other name. We have enough names in the portfolio, old and new."

Volkswagen design chief Andreas Mindt has hinted that a dramatic makover next year for the ID 4 will take a significant number of styling cues from the new ID Cross concept.

While Mindt wouldn’t give specific details, he said the ID 4 will be "the big brother” of the new ID Cross, which is due to go on sale next year. The ID 3 will also receive a similarly dramatic overhaul, although Mindt refused to elaborate.

However, he did hint that Volkswagen would move away from the extremely short front ends on its early bespoke electric efforts, most notably the ID 3 – although it is unclear if that can be addressed in a heavy update.

“With electric cars you don’t have engines so the bonnet can be really short, so companies including us did this,” he added. “But the pedal box stays in the same place, and when that stays it’s wrong, because all you create is a very deep dashboard and long glass window, and that is like an oven and you don’t have energy to cool it down – so it’s a mistake.”

As previously reported by Autocar, the ID 4's mid-life update will be so extensive that it will be more like a new generation than a facelift, as part of a drive to sustain its strong sales figures and make it a more obvious electric equivalent to the Tiguan.

The ID 4, Volkswagen's second bespoke electric car after the closely related ID 3 hatchback, is approaching its fifth birthday, having launched in 2020 as a crucial component of the firm's drive to become a global leader in EV sales.

It quickly became one of the world's most popular EVs, and remains an important part of Volkswagen's electric portfolio: in the first half of 2025 it was Europe's second best-selling electric car, behind the Tesla Model Y, according to figures from Jato Dynamics.

And now, at five years old, the Toyota bZ4X and Tesla Model Y rival is due an extensive round of design and technical updates to bring it into line with its newer stablemates.

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer told Autocar the new 2026 ID 4 is "really beautiful" and hinted at just how extensively it has been overhauled: "We'll re-do the ID 4 completely inside and out. It will be a completely different car - a huge step up."

A major priority for the design overhaul is to ensure the ID 4 is visually related to Volkswagen's new-generation electric cars. "We felt it needed to fit in with the new design language going forward, since it is still our most important electric vehicle in numbers," said Schäfer, specifically mentioning the ID 1 and ID 2.

“It's also to stay competitive for a while: let's [bring] a completely new one.”

Autocar understands the new ID 4 is known internally as the 'electric Tiguan', hinting at a push to present the two similarly sized SUV models more overtly as siblings. 

The company has not confirmed plans to go as far as changing the ID 4’s name, but Schäfer previously suggested to Autocar that the Tiguan moniker would always have a place in Volkswagen’s portfolio - even as the line-up goes all-electric. He said: “We've decided we're not going to throw away the traditional, successful names that have carried us for so long, that we've invested in for so long, like Golf and Tiguan. Why would you let them go?”

An electric Tiguan equivalent has long been understood to be part of Volkswagen's product roadmap, the combustion-powered car being Volkswagen's most popular car globally, and was earmarked for a launch in 2025 or 2026 - which would coincide with the planned rollout for the upgraded ID 4.

Speaking to Autocar, Volkswagen technical development boss Kai Grünitz confirmed recently that the ID 4 will follow the ID 3 hatchback in adopting the new design language first introduced on the 2023 ID 2all concept, giving them “a family resemblance to the ID 2” as well as “a lower and squatter stance”.

Grünitz confirmed that the facelifted ID 3 and ID 4 will receive fully revised interiors featuring a new dashboard and user interface. Among the changes is a return of physical buttons and knobs in place of digital display-based functions and the controversial slider element, a move first hinted at by the ID 2All.

“We’re going to bring back a round knob for the volume control,” an insider said, adding: “If you develop something that works, and it has worked for years, there’s no reason to replace it.”

Technical details of the facelifted ID 3 and ID 4 have yet to be revealed, though Autocar has been told Volkswagen’s best-selling electric models will benefit from the efficiency and performance gains brought to other more recently launched models, including the ID 7, through newer and more technically advanced electric motors and more contemporary battery and inverter technology.

The facelifted ID 3 is scheduled to be revealed during the second quarter of next year, with the ID 4 arriving later in 2026. 

The ID 4's rakish-roofed ID 5 sibling is understood to be earmarked for retirement, rather than undergoing the same round of updates. Volkswagen does not break out individual model performance in its annual reports, but the ID 5 is not currently in Europe's top 25 EVs, and has sold around a third the number of ID 4s in the UK since the duo launched. 

The updates are part of a broader effort to reset Volkswagen’s image as a maker of EVs after early criticism of quality, software and user experience in its first-generation MEB-based models.

Alongside the arrival of three new MEB Entry-based EVs next year – the VW ID 2, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq – the goal is to extend the lifespan of the current 400V models to keep VW at the top of Europe’s EV sales charts, insiders say, while the firm readies its next-generation 800V SSP platform, which is due to underpin VW EVs from 2028.

Volkswagen also intends to differentiate its EV designs by region, with European and US models sharing a common design theme while Chinese-market cars receive their own styling direction. This strategy was hinted at by the unveiling of the ID Aura, Era and Evo at the Shanghai motor show in April.

The new Volkswagen ID Cross concept previews a chunky, supermini-sized electric crossover that will arrive at the end of next year priced from around £25,000.

The new model, which is in effect a raised version of the incoming ID Polo hatch, is described as a city-friendly yet long-distance-capable five-seat SUV that will slot into the range beneath the ID 4.

The EV has been named to position it clearly as an electric counterpart to the T-Cross, said VW, and is part of a new naming strategy that will see well-known badges adorn EVs in place of the numerical system that has been in use since the ID 3 was revealed in 2018.

The ID Cross is one of four small EVs the Volkswagen Group is preparing to launch on its MEB Entry electric platform within the next 18 months, alongside the ID Polo, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq.

At 4161mm long, 1839mm wide and 1588mm tall, and with a 2601mm wheelbase, the ID Cross is very close in size to the existing internal-combustion-engined T-Cross. It is 108mm longer, 23mm wider and 53mm taller than the ID Polo.

The new SUV is styled to be “clear, authentic and likeable”, with a rugged, off-roader appearance, VW styling boss Andreas Mindt told Autocar. Its “smiling” 3D front light signature is intended to give it an “approachable personality”, he added. Recognisable design cues include distinctive C-pillars that echo those of the ID Buzz.

The cabin mirrors that of the smaller ID Polo: VW has moved away from the glossy plastics of current ID models, and instead almost every visible surface is wrapped in pale fabric, giving the cabin a lighter, lounge-like appeal.

The dashboard is reduced to a single horizontal band running the width of the car, broken only by two digital displays: an 11in digital instrument panel ahead of the driver and a 13in central touchscreen. Physical controls have been pared back to a small row of touch-sensitive climate control buttons.

The steering wheel has been simplified too, adopting a squared-off shape and touch-panel controls in place of conventional stalks.

The boot has a capacity of 450 litres, supported by a small 25-litre frunk under the bonnet. This matches larger cars, such as the Volvo EX40. Volkswagen says all seats can fold completely flat.

Like other cars using the MEB Entry, power comes from a front-mounted electric motor that produces 208bhp, and sends drive to the front wheels. VW quotes a top speed of 109mph and a range of up to 261 miles.

The production version of the ID Cross will be revealed next summer before entering UK showrooms during the second half of 2026.

Volkswagen has yet to confi rm exact pricing, but the ID Cross is expected to start at around £25,000 – £3000 more than the smaller ID Polo but significantly less than the larger ID 4, itself scheduled to be heavily facelifted next year.

It is set to be built at VW’s Pamplona factory in Spain alongside the Skoda Epiq.