Does the ID.Golf replace the Golf and the ID3?
The next Volkswagen Golf will be fully electric. Once that is there, the ID3 no longer has a right to exist. The Volkswagen Golf and the ID3 could simply merge into the ID.Golf. Those are not our words, but those of Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer.
An interview that AutoWeeks Ken Divjak conducted with Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer and board member Imelda Labbé reveals a lot of interesting information about the future of the Volkswagen Golf and the ID3, among others. For example, Volkswagen CEO Schäfer confirms that the current generation of the Volkswagen Golf is the very last to be offered with combustion engines. The next generation Volkswagen Golf will therefore be fully electric. When will that electric new Volkswagen Golf arrive? Schäfer doesn’t say exactly that yet. “But you can count on the electric Golf to come onto the market around 2030,” the CEO said. More Golf news: the new electric Volkswagen Golf will most likely use the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP). “The new EV architecture is perfect in terms of dimensions for the ninth generation Golf,” says Schäfer.
Does the Volkswagen ID3 still have a right to exist if there is a fully electric Golf? Thomas Schäfer is adamant about this: no. According to the CEO, “It makes no sense to offer both EVs side by side. They are both compact hatchbacks. We may soon merge the ID3 with the Golf.” One thing is clear: the Golf model name will continue to exist. “It is not possible to call the ID3 Golf. The styling of the ID3 is too different for that. Moreover, the name Golf is too strong to simply retire it. So it makes more sense to have both models come together in one after this generation. model, also because their life cycles are fairly similar.” Both the Volkswagen ID3 and the current generation Golf were introduced in Europe in 2020.
The Volkswagen Golf is not the only model whose model name Volkswagen attaches enormous value to. It therefore appears that Volkswagen wants to retain model names with a lot of historical value, but not all. “Not all our model names have the same resonance as Golf or Tiguan. We will certainly take that with us into the future. By the way, don’t just think in terms of model names, but also of versions, such as the GTI emblem, which will make its relaunch on the electric ID2 in 2026. We will decide on other models when the time comes, but always with deliberation. With some projects, such as Trinity, it is not wise to hark back to the past, but we must look resolutely ahead.”
Will the ID4 be renamed ID.Tiguan in the future? It just might be possible!
Depending on whether Volkswagen considers a model name important enough, models appear to be taken into the future and then merged with their current electric ID equivalents. This has consequences for the naming. Imelda Labbé – member of the Board of Directors for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales at Volkswagen – says that Volkswagen still supports its decision to attach its EV-developed models to the ID label. “For the current transition phase, in which we offer both ICE models and BEVs, this remains the right strategy. That strategy will be extended to the ID2, which will arrive in 2026. Towards the end of this decade we are considering a combination of the letters ID with well-known emblems, such as ID.Golf or ID.Tiguan. This will be clearer for our customers, who could use some guidance in these changing times. Moreover, these well-known names provide more information about the type of car and the segment in which it is located. located.” So don’t be surprised if cars like the yet-to-be-revealed ID2 and the current ID3, ID4/ID5 and ID7 get successors called ID.Polo, ID.Golf, ID.Tiguan and ID.Passat, although you may wonder what the added value of the ID label is still if Volkswagen only sells EVs. The ID.Golf-like names may only be for a second transition phase. Time will tell.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl