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It looks like VW will follow GM's Chevy strategy by naming their EV's after their ICE models.... VW has had difficulties with their ICE diesel history, the rollout of their ID.4 and long delay with the ID.Buzz. They need the Golf nameplate as the model dominated European sales for years before Tesla became dominant over there.
Let's hope the Golf is successful all over the world.
Read more:
According to reports from Autocar in the UK, Volkswagen will drastically change the design framework of the ID.2 and turn it into a compact hatchback. It was originally known as a crossover. Below is the content of the article. With the help of machine translation, there are some parts that are not smooth, so please also refer to the original text in the link below~
Volkswagen will return to the development of the long-awaited ID 2 urban electric vehicle and unveil a micro-electric vehicle with an all-new exterior and interior in a new concept car in March.
According to Wolfsburg officials, the compact five-seater electric car, which will go on sale in 2025 at a base price of 22,500 euros, is lining up to get the name Golf.
Autocar sources also confirmed that the Volkswagen ID 2 will be the first Volkswagen based on the MEB-Plus platform, an updated version of the MEB electric vehicle structure widely used today, with support for new LFP (lithium iron phosphate) prismatic battery cells and charging speeds of up to 200 kW, among others.
While nothing has been officially revealed, Autocar said there has been a name back-and-forth in recent months, including the use of the ID Golf name, which Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaefer first mentioned in an interview in October 2022.
Initially, there was an opinion that the name Golf could be used for a facelifted version of the Volkswagen ID 3. However, an Autocar source denied this, saying, "The real value of the Volkswagen Golf lies in its ID 2-sized car."
Instead of the controversial crossover design presented by the Volkswagen ID Life Concept at the 2020 Munich Motor Show, the significantly revised Volkswagen ID 2 will feature a more traditional hatchback form developed by a team of designers under the guidance of Volkswagen's new head of design, Andreas Maint.
The move comes after Autocar's assessment that Schaefer and Volkswagen's new management had a "lukewarm" reaction to the original crossover design developed by its predecessor, Josef Kavan.
After much internal debate over the original design of the upcoming price-leading electric car, Cavan stepped down from the project. Volkswagen's head of design since 2020 is now Volkswagen's new creative art director.
The decision to offer the new car in hatchback form comes after Cupra revealed that similar styling will be applied to its ID 2's sibling, the Urban Rebel.
Both models will be produced at the Seat Martorell plant near Barcelona as an indirect replacement for the Volkswagen Up and Seat Mie. A similar concept model from Skoda based on the same architecture will be released at a later date.
Those familiar with the initial proposals of the redesigned ID 2 say that the exterior dimensions of this car are about halfway between the existing internal combustion engine Volkswagen Polo and Golf, with a length of "about 4250 mm".
With a relatively short bonnet and flat floor, it claims to offer "the interior space of models typically one segment high". Volkswagen insiders have strongly raised the link to the fourth-generation Golf regarding the new model.
A source told Autocar: "We have a great tradition and product strength in this segment. It's not a whole new beginning, it's a logical continuation of what Volkswagen excelled in the past, albeit with electric drive."
At the current initial stage, the ID 2 will only be available in single-motor, front-wheel drive form. However, Volkswagen sources contacted by Autocar revealed that the MEB-Plus platform will support dual-motor, all-wheel drive models, and such a configuration cannot be ruled out in the future.
"By electric vehicle standards, it will be relatively light, between 1600kg and 1700kg," Autocar said. More importantly, Schaefer also nodded at the return of the GTI badge. It will replace the GTI model name first introduced in the Volkswagen ID 2020 in 4, paving the way for the first fully electric Volkswagen Golf GTI.
A senior source told Autocar that "GTX is dead." "The decision has already been made to replace it with the traditional GTI name and is considering ID 2."
The combination of front-wheel drive and GTI signifies a pedigree reminiscent of the original Golf GTI released in 1976. While a final decision on whether it will be applied to the production version of the ID 2 has not yet been made, it is expected that the concept of a new electric model with GTI's signature styling cues could be unveiled at the annual Wörthersee GTI Fan Meeting in Austria in May or the ID Fan Meeting in Locarno, Switzerland in September.
