Redesigned Version Coming Soon
The ID.4 crossover remains the only truly mass-market Volkswagen EV sold in the United States. The ID.Buzz may have retro charm, but it’s too expensive and too niche to be a volume seller, and VW hasn’t brought any other EVs here. So mass appeal is vital to the ID.4’s success, and an upcoming name change could help with that.
VW recently announced that it would replace the numbers in its ID series with names from gasoline models as the EVs are redesigned. The ID.4’s turn is expected to come in 2026, which would likely make the redesigned version a 2027 model. And Car reports that could come with a name change to ID.Tiguan.
Name Game
Volkswagen
VW confirmed the switch in naming strategy at the recent IAA Mobility Show in Munich, announcing that the production version of the ID.2all concept would be called the ID.Polo, reflecting its position as the electric equivalent of that entry-level model. It also unveiled a new EV concept called the ID.Cross, named after the T-Cross crossover. Both are scheduled to launch in Europe in 2026.
The automaker explained the renaming as a way to capitalize on consumers’ familiarity with its gasoline-car names in order to strengthen its EV branding. It makes sense, as this will allow car shoppers to use models they already know as reference points, rather than a numbered hierarchy that only works within the context of the EV lineup.
When asked about the possibility of the ID.4 becoming the ID.Tiguan, VW CEO Thomas Schäfer only answered “potentially.” But it’s hard to think of a more logical name, as the Tiguan was VW’s bestselling model in the U.S. in 2024. At 94,372 units, it outsold all of VW’s sedans and hatchbacks combined.
‘A Huge Step Up’
Volkswagen
Whatever it’s called, the redesigned ID.4 will be “a huge step up” from the current model, Schäfer told Car, with new design language and a new interior. That design language will reportedly bring the EV closer to the gasoline Tiguan, but it will still use a dedicated EV platform. MEB+, an updated version of the MEB platform used by the current ID.4, reportedly aims for increased battery energy density and motor efficiency.
The ID.4 is certainly in need of a redesign. It was introduced as a 2021 model, and while there have been some updates along the way, the price has steadily crept up, eroding one of the VW’s main selling points. That includes an effective $5,090 hike for the 2025 model year, when VW opted to restart production of only versions with the 82-kilowatt-hour battery pack after a recall-induced shutdown. At the time, VW said the cheaper 62-kWh models would return, but at press time they still weren’t in the automaker’s online configurator.
U.S. ID.4 sales fell approximately 65% in the second quarter, and the elimination of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit could dampen sales further. VW will reportedly pause ID.4 production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant in October, laying off 160 workers.
