Will new Volkswagen ID.2 be rebadged as ID. Golf?

New Volkswagen management has never been very pleased with the concept version of the ID 2. The study, announcing the most affordable and smallest member in the ID. family, was sent back to the drawing board. Insiders have revealed that the overhaul might imply that the car will be badged as Golf when it appears in showrooms in 2025. A new concept is expected in March.

Initially, the ID.2 was presented as an all-electric crossover with a boxy design at the fair in  Münich two years ago, under the name ID. Life. It was rather positioned in the category of the Volkswagen Polo than the above-mentioned Golf. But when Thomas Schäfer took over the helm at the brand mid-last year, he disapproved of the concept and demanded a new route because of “lukewarm reactions.”

Not much later, the VW brand CEO told German media that the Golf name would be kept in the electrification switch, despite the ID.3 pitched as its modern successor. “It doesn’t make sense to change a name that people absolutely understand,” he said.

Between Golf and Polo

Things now seem to be aligning. VW insiders have told British car magazine Autocar that plans have dramatically changed for the ID.2. The new version would slot in between the size of a Polo and a Golf, with a length of “around 4 250 mm” and a weight between 1 600 and 1 700 kilograms. So, it wouldn’t be weighty without being feather-light.

Though the most accessible member from the ID. family wouldn’t share the same dimensions as the famous Golf, it would offer, next to its name, comparable interior space seating five persons. That roominess is made possible by the skateboard platform MEB Plus, an advanced version of the one used by the ID.3 and the other siblings.

Initially launched with a single electric motor and front-wheel drive (the current MEB is rear-wheel drive), the MEB Plus can technically also be mated to a dual motor layout with four-wheel drive. Autocar also mentions that a GTI version is on the table.

Sister model at Cupra

As for batteries, the MEB Plus is said to feature lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry capable of peak charging at 200 kW. As for the design, Volkswagen is believed to have changed minds and leans towards a classic hatchback. Just like the original Golf, indeed, but also in accordance with the Cupra Urban Rebel, its sister model, which will be built on the same assembly line, most likely in Barcelona.

The ID. Golf is expected to hit the market in 2025 with a target price of under € 23 000. Similarities with the original Golf are easy to come by. Just like its predecessor, the all-electric successor must empower the mass adoption of the technology. Confirmation of the new design approach is expected next month when Volkswagen is believed to launch a concept version of the ID. Golf.