Volkswagen confirms new naming strategy: ID. Polo

It is now official: Volkswagen has changed the naming strategy for its electric cars. However, contrary to earlier expectations, the “ID” badge is staying.

The key shift is that “ID” will now be paired with Volkswagen names everyone already knows, keeping a clear historic link to the brand’s past and replacing the numbers that have, until now, distinguished each model.

The first production model to follow this approach will be the road-going version of the ID.2All. Up to this point, everything suggested it would be called ID.2, but Volkswagen has now confirmed the final name: ID. Polo.

That move is easy to understand. The Polo name’s history, recognition and weight should help speed up acceptance of the new electric model, which will be sold alongside the combustion-engined Polo (itself also close to a refresh).

The confirmation comes from Volkswagen Chief Executive Thomas Schäfer, who said the brand’s model names are “firmly rooted in people’s minds. That’s why we’re taking our best-known names into the future. The ID. Polo is only the beginning”, he stated.

Volkswagen plans to carry other established names over to the electric range with each new model generation, while leaving the original designations of combustion-powered models untouched.

Volkswagen ID. Polo

Combining “ID” with “Polo” has a straightforward purpose: to bring together the ID family’s advanced technology and electric mobility with the quality, safety and accessible innovation the Polo has long represented.

The car will be built on the new MEB Entry platform. Compared with the existing MEB architecture, it places the electric motor on the front axle and does without an independent rear suspension, switching instead to a simpler, cheaper semi-rigid set-up.

Even so, the biggest gains from this platform are in packaging. Despite having dimensions comparable to a combustion Polo, the longer wheelbase (2600 mm) allows the ID. Polo to claim cabin space on a par with a Golf, which sits one segment higher.

At launch, the ID. Polo will be offered with two battery sizes. Although Volkswagen has not yet disclosed their capacities, the brand is quoting a maximum range of 450 km (WLTP) when the larger pack is fitted.

And while battery capacity figures remain under wraps, the German manufacturer has already confirmed the model will support DC charging at up to 125 kW.

First 100% electric GTI

If the ID. Polo arrives in the first half of 2026, we will have to wait until the end of that year to meet the Volkswagen ID. Polo GTI-the brand’s first fully electric model to wear this historically significant badge. Among its rivals will be another electric GTI that has already been previewed: the Peugeot e-208 GTi.

Thomas Schäfer says the ID. Polo GTI will be a front-wheel-drive hot hatch that “brings back the idea of sporty driving with the character needed for everyday use”.

To deliver that, the compact Volkswagen will use the company’s new electric motor (APP550) and produce 166 kW (226 hp).

If that still does not sound like enough, two stronger versions are said to be in the works: a GTI Clubsport, which has already been confirmed, and even an ID. Polo R with four-wheel drive, though that one is not yet confirmed.

They only arrive in 2026

The Volkswagen ID. Polo and ID. Polo GTI will make their first public appearance at the Munich Motor Show, from 9 to 14 September, although they will still be fully camouflaged-just as shown in the images.

The full unveiling is scheduled for May 2026.

Volkswagen’s Munich news will not end there, either. Alongside the camouflaged prototypes, the brand will also introduce the ID. Cross Concept, a show car that previews its next crossover-positioned as a fully electric alternative to the current T-Cross.