Volkswagen ID 2X: £25k EV's name confirmed ahead of Munich debut

Volkswagen will reveal a chunky, supermini-sized electric crossover called the ID 2X at the Munich motor show in September.

Previewed last year, the ID 2X is a higher-riding sibling to the Volkswagen Polo-sized ID 2, which is due to be launched later this year, and will effectively serve as an EV alternative to the T-Cross.

It will be based on the same shortened version of the MEB platform as the ID 2. The crossover is set to be offered exclusively with a single motor on the front axle, giving 223bhp, and a choice of 38kWh and 56kWh batteries - the latter providing a range of around 280 miles.

Volkswagen has previously said the larger battery will be capable of topping up at 125kW to take its state of charge from 10-80% in just 20 minutes. 

The smaller-battery car is set to be one of the cheapest electric SUVs on the market when it lands, in line with Volkswagen's ambitious strategy to reduce the production and list price of its EVs.

The ID 2 supermini is planned to be available from £22,000, only slightly more than today's Polo, so the equivalent SUV should go on sale at the £25,000 mark. 

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer confirmed the new baby SUV's name in a post on LinkedIn, where he also revealed that it will make its debut at Munich.

It is the fourth and final entrant in the Volkswagen Group's upcoming range of entry-level electric cars – joining the ID 2, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq – and will be built alongside those three cars at a new plant near Barcelona in Spain.

Volkswagen head of design Andreas Mindt has described the ID 2X as a "safe, confident, bold" design that is "simple, like the ID 2 All" - referencing how that concept apes the clean, simplistic cues of previous Golf and Polo models. 

Indeed, the resemblance to the supermini is obvious in the preview image, though the higher-riding SUV will have a more upright silhouette with bulkier wheel arches, a distinctive vent-style motif on the C-pillar (which could be glass on the production car) and a chunky rear spoiler. There will be no obvious visual links between this new SUV and today's ID 4 and ID 5, as Mindt looks to usher in a whole new brand image.