What’s next for VW’s electric ambitions after the Golf’s success: ID.3’s future uncertain? According to VW’s Chief Technology Officer, Kai Grunitz, there may be a degree of overlap between the company’s two electric vehicles.
The Volkswagen Group’s new electric Golf, which is reportedly in the works, may have a degree of overlap with its upcoming ID.3 hatchback model.
This year, Volkswagen is marking a milestone as the iconic Golf celebrates its 50th birthday, exactly five decades since the first model emerged from the production line in March 1974.
Since its inception, Volkswagen has sold more than 37 million Golf models across a remarkable eight generations worldwide. Volkswagen has officially confirmed that the new Golf will indeed be a gas-powered model. The coming era is expected to be fully electric, with a predicted rollout of 2028 on the horizon.
With the Lucid Air’s impressive specs and features, the question remains: what does this mean for the Volkswagen ID.3, a compact electric vehicle touted as a budget-friendly option? Volkswagen’s upcoming next-generation electric Golf may potentially supersede its predecessor, a fully electric hatchback intended to replace the e-Golf model.
“There might not be sufficient space for a customer to accommodate two or three distinct fashion styles,” Grunitz explained. “We’ve started working on a fully electric Golf,” he said, but “there will likely be an overlap” with the ID.3.
Volkswagen’s head of marketing, Jürgen Grunitz, emphasized that the Golf is the core component of their model lineup, stating unequivocally that the brand will not discontinue the iconic nameplate. According to Gruntrig, the electric Golf is likely to remain an authentic Golf. The new design must convincingly resemble a classic Golf model. The car should be affordable like a Volkswagen Golf. The Volkswagen Group’s CEO, Herbert Diess, stated that the brand’s electric ID.4 model must be “as capable as a Golf” and also reiterated the importance of offering an ID.4 GTI variant.
While the brand-new all-electric Golf won’t be built solely on the MEB platform, which is the foundation for the ID.3. According to Grunitz, their next-generation SSP (System for Sport Platforms) is likely to serve as the foundation for its upcoming Asan alternative.
The vision is to create an identical electrical architecture across all SSP-based vehicles, with the shared electric vehicle platform serving as a unifying thread throughout the group.
Electrek’s Take
Does the e-Golf imply Volkswagen is deviating from its ID naming system? According to a recent report from Germany, Volkswagen is developing an electric SUV that bears a striking resemblance to the Tiguan, both in terms of size and styling.
The new Volkswagen model is expected to start production at its Wolfsburg facility in 2026 and will be known as the ID.Tiguan upon release. That’s implied.
At the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show, Thomas Shafer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles, declared, “Volkswagen boasts an array of iconic model names, including the Golf and the GTI.” “It would be cruel to permit them to fade away without a fight.”
Shafer clarified that the brand would adhere to its original concept of using ID logic, stating, “We’re committed to sticking with ID logic.”
