Currently reading: Volkswagen confirms ID Polo name for new £22k EV

New entry-level electric hatchback will arrive in 2026; VW boss confirms other heritage names will adorn EVs

The £22k production version of the Volkswagen ID 2all concept will be named the ID Polo, as the German brand starts using familiar model names on its electric models.

“Names like Polo or Golf are deeply ingrained,” said Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer. “They stand for quality, accessible technology and heritage. We want to carry those qualities into the electric era.”

Schäfer’s reference to the Golf name also confirms Autocar’s earlier scoop that Volkswagen’s most iconic badge will be used on a future EV – a successor to the similarly sized and positioned ID 3, due later this decade.

Moreover, the ID 4 and ID 7 are expected to adopt the ID Tiguan and ID Passat names and the production version of the ID Every1 – a £17k baby hatchback due in 2027 – will be called the ID Up or ID Lupo.

The ID Polo’s name was announced today, ahead of next week’s Munich motor show, where Volkswagen will showcase the hatch in a camouflaged production guise ahead of its unveiling early next year. 

It will be shown alongside a concept for its crossover sibling, which is confirmed to take the ID Cross name to signify its positioning as an electric counterpart to the T-Cross. The production version will launch at the end of 2026.

These cars are part of the Volkswagen Group’s ‘Electric Urban Car Family’ alongside the Skoda Epiq and Cupra Raval. All four are based on the same MEB Entry platform and will share powertrains.

The ID Polo will be offered with a choice of 38kWh and 56kWh batteries - the latter providing a range of around 280 miles – and the ability to charge at speeds of up to 125kW.

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Buyers will have a choice of four power levels from a front-mounted motor. 

This will top out at 223bhp in its most potent form, badged the ID Polo GTI – the first time the GTI badge has adorned an EV. It follows last year’s ID GTI concept.

Volkswagen has also confirmed the ID Polo’s dimensions: it will be 4053mm long, 1816mm wide and 1530mm tall. This makes it only slightly larger than the ICE Polo and nearly identical to the new Renault 4 EV.

Inside, it will use a 12.9in infotainment touchscreen and a 10.9in digital driver display, while adopting physical switches for the audio and climate controls.

Volkswagen is aiming to eradicate all glue and hard plastics from its next-generation interiors, in line with a pledge to boost material quality while reducing its cars' environmental impacts. 

The introduction of the ID Polo and ID Cross names brings to an end the numeric naming Volkswagen has used for its ID models since the launch of the ID 3 in 2020.

Volkswagen admits that the system has failed to achieve the clarity it had hoped for, often leaving customers confused about how the EVs relate to their ICE counterparts.

While sharing names and being sold alongside each other, Volkswagen's EVs and ICE cars will be technically unrelated and have separate styles.

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Will Rimell

Will Rimell Autocar
Title: News editor

Will is Autocar's news editor.​ His focus is on setting Autocar's news agenda, interviewing top executives, reporting from car launches, and unearthing exclusives.

As part of his role, he also manages Autocar Business – the brand's B2B platform – and Haymarket's aftermarket publication CAT.

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