According to Germany’s largest union, the ID. 4’s update will also affect its name. In the wake of the earlier announced return of the well-known family names, it will be labeled ID. Tiguan.
It must help its recent electric sales surge in Europe and turn it into a more durable recovery. At a higher management level, the group is also pursuing change with a far-reaching management reshuffle.
Volkswagen will relaunch its facelifted ID.4 later this year – with a new name: ID. The labor union IG Metall confirmed the Tiguan.
By reviving one of its strongest combustion-era badges, Volkswagen is quietly acknowledging that the numeric ID branding has failed to build the same emotional pull as models such as the Tiguan and Golf.
ID.5 is out
Production will be concentrated in Emden through 2031, while output in Zwickau is wound down. Volkswagen is in the midst of a significant effort to streamline its German manufacturing footprint after years of juggling electric and combustion vehicles across multiple plants.
And what about the coupe-style ID.5? That version will quietly be removed from the portfolio. The brand wants to focus on fewer, higher-volume nameplates rather than niche derivatives.
The rebranding product strategy seeks to blur the visual and emotional gap between electric and combustion models. Like Mercedes, Volkswagen wants to shift toward the BMW model, which largely avoids a separate BEV lineup, a choice that has proven successful.
The facelift will also bring along a revised MEB+ architecture, while cheaper battery chemistries for entry versions are expected to improve margins and price competitiveness. Volkswagen executives have conceded that the first wave of ID models struggled to justify their positioning against both Chinese newcomers and Tesla.
However, that decision comes at a time when Volkswagen has, in fact, overtaken Tesla. According to Automotive News data, the brand overtook the American carmaker as the region’s top seller of battery-electric vehicles last year. Deliveries rose more than 50 percent.
Tesla still owns Europe’s single best-selling EV, the Model Y, but its overall volumes fell sharply – almost 30 percent. Also, Skoda (+117%) and Audi (+51%) performed well. The ID.4 is Volkswagen’s best-selling electric car.
Dismantling brand-level boards
Announcing a preliminary look into the 2025 results, Volkswagen surprised investors with a €6 billion positive net cash flow, easing fears that its electric transition was draining resources too quickly. Sales volumes only slipped marginally by 0.5%.
The financial breathing room matters as the group faces pressure in China (-8%) and the United States (-10%), where sales have slipped. Apparently, the rescue plan announced earlier last year by group CEO Oliver Blume is bearing fruit.
But Volkswagen won’t rest on its laurels. The group has decided to centralize power at the top of its volume brands. In a pretty drastic move, Volkswagen has dismantled brand-level boards for production, purchasing, and development, shifting those responsibilities to a new Core board chaired by VW brand chief Thomas Schäfer. The overhaul cuts the number of management board members from 29 to 19 and places cross-brand decisions firmly in Wolfsburg.
The message is clear: cost-cutting applies to executives as much as factory workers. Volkswagen expects at least €1 billion in savings in production alone by 2030, part of a broader plan that includes 35,000 job cuts in Germany and tighter limits on research spending.
For a group long criticized for slow and fragmented decision-making, the reorganization is an attempt to trade autonomy for speed.
