Volkswagen Has A New Plan For EV Names. Here

• Volkswagen has announced a pivot away from unique names for its electric vehicles, like ID. 4 and so on. 
• Instead, VW will lean on established nameplates and familiar models, starting with the ID.2all becoming the ID. Polo and ID. Polo GTI.
• An ID. Cross SUV is coming soon, an electric counterpart to the popular Volkswagen T-Cross.

The so-called “legacy” car companies have faced an interesting conundrum in recent years: what on Earth are they supposed to call their electric vehicles? Do they give these things unique names, or lean on the strength of the established models that everyone knows and loves? 

More and more, they’re moving toward the latter plan. Volkswagen is the latest to make such a move, announcing today that the VW ID.2all compact electric hatchback will go into production as the ID. Polo. And, in great news for gearheads everywhere, it will come with a faster and more powerful ID. Polo GTI version as well.

The prototype versions of those cars will be shown at Europe’s biggest automotive trade show, IAA Munich, starting this weekend. But that’s not all. The automaker will also show off the ID. Cross SUV, slated as an electric counterpart to the T-Cross it sells in Europe, Latin America and other markets. 

The ID. Polo and ID. Cross will head to production in 2026.

Volkswagen ID. Polo Dark 2026

Photo by: Volkswagen

In doing so, VW is signaling a clear shift away from its more experimental names, like ID.4 and ID.7, for its future EVs. (At the same time, those existing models don’t appear to be getting new names—at least, not yet.) 

“A model like the Polo shows just how powerful a name can be: it stands for reliability, personality and history,” VW board member Martin Sander said in a news release. “That’s precisely why we are again giving our ID. models names that arouse emotions and are anchored in people’s everyday lives. Electric mobility should not only be progressive, but also accessible and personal.”

2026 Volkswagen ID. Polo GTI camouflaged

Photo by: Volkswagen

The first VW Polo was launched in 1975, a year after the Golf took the company past its archaic air-cooled era. While never sold in America, the Polo has gone on to be one of its most successful models ever. Capitalizing on that branding is something of a no-brainer as VW keeps gaining momentum as an EV maker, especially in Europe, where it has surpassed Tesla in sales for months. Many people presumed the original ID.2all Concept unveiled in 2023 would be an electric Golf, but then VW announced plans for a bigger variant called—naturally—the ID. Golf. 

And VW also reiterated that another familiar feature is making a comeback: physical buttons.

Volkswagen ID.Every1

Photo by: Volkswagen

“All new models show clearly that Volkswagen is responding even more closely to customers’ feedback,” the automaker said in the release. “This is evident, among other things, in the higher level of quality with soft materials, the intelligent combination of digital and physical controls such as buttons and knobs in the steering wheel and cockpit, as well as the intuitive operating concept.”

Despite strong European sales in recent months, VW’s electric strategy has been a very mixed bag in the decade since it announced an all-EV future in the wake of its diesel cheating scandal. The German conglomerate has encountered difficulties with software, setbacks and delays to key models, uneven sales in key markets and intensifying competition from China.

Gallery: Volkswagen ID. Polo

Still, its momentum lately has been undeniable, and the company has reiterated for months that it plans to make future EVs less like spaceships and more like its conventional vehicles. It has also partnered with Rivian to create advanced software and electric architectures that will underpin its future models, starting with the VW ID. Every1—whatever that will end up being called. 

In doing so, VW joins several other companies leaning on known brands as it faces an electric future. That includes its corporate cousin Porsche, which recently made the Macan all-electric and is set to release an electric Cayenne soon; Mercedes-Benz, which is abandoning its controversial EQ names and designs; and Toyota, which has also promised that future EVs will converge with its well-known gas cars and hybrids. 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com