The mess of names that Volkswagen was facing has been settled. The ranges will merge from the next generation. The name ID will be gone very soon. When you want to run the way Volkswagen has done with its electric cars, a lot can go wrong. Although the ID family is gradually taking shape, sales are not as satisfactory as the first estimates indicated. The idea of separating the electric and combustion ranges was well appreciated at first, but, looking to the future, it represents a real headache at a commercial and marketing level. Faced with such a challenge, Volkswagen confirms that the ID range will disappear in the next generation to unify the entire fleet under the same names.
Currently, the Volkswagen ID.3 can be considered the electric brother of the Volkswagen Golf. Two products, for now, are well-segmented, but in a few years they will have to come together under the same name. The Germans have already confirmed that the next generation of their compact star will become 100% electric and that, under no circumstances, they plan to part with a name that is a brand in itself. If one has to disappear, it is the ID.3 and it will. Despite having a recent facelift, the electric compact is doomed.
Not only him but also the rest of the IDs. In a more sensible strategy than the one proposed by the former CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Herber Diess, the new leadership has made very difficult decisions in a very short time to redirect the electrification strategy. It is more than likely that the ID.4 will become the Volkswagen Tiguan, which, like the Golf, has managed to carve out more than deserved recognition throughout its almost two decades of life. The next generation will be called the Volkswagen ID.Tiguan. To these names, we can also add others such as Polo or Passat.
The last ID to arrive has been the Volkswagen ID.7, recently launched at the Shanghai Motor Show. Taking advantage of the occasion, the head of Volkswagen Product Planning, Henrik Muth, has told Autoweek about the expected news: “If you look at the life of the Passat, which will soon be presented, and this ID7, then you can imagine that these models have to be replaced almost at the same time. What do you mean by that? Well, once the first generation of each model passes, the ID versions will become the current models that we have always known. That is to say: ID.3 will be the Golf and ID.7 will be the Passat. The big question is: when will this happen?
There is no specific date, but you only have to take into account the life cycles of each model to determine when we will see the adaptation of names. The most extreme case is that of the ID.7 and the Passat. With a scheduled life expectancy of seven years, we are talking about the sedan range being unified in 2030, but the ID.3 will happen before that. The compact has just been updated while the Golf continues to enjoy its first version of the eighth generation. Soon we will know an update that will be on the market for three to four years. Do not forget that Volkswagen wants to sell exclusively electric from 2033.
