► Next-gen VW ID.4 electric SUV confirmed for 2026
► Heavy design and tech upgrade planned
► Could be called ID. Tiguan in ‘familiar’ name push
We’re learning more about the next-generation Volkswagen ID.4 ahead of its 2026 unveil, with executives from the brand at the 2025 Munich motor show pointing to it being renamed ID. Tiguan.
‘Naming has always been a live wire. When I showed the ID. Polo at the plant general meeting – they were the first to see the nameplate – the whole place broke out,’ says VW brand boss, Thomas Schäfer. ‘Now we’re going to roll this out whenever there’s a new product change or new model – it’ll be new names from here on, and names we’re familiar with.’
When asked in more detail about the new naming strategy at the 2025 Munich motor show, and whether we’d see an ID. Tiguan next year, brand CEO Thomas Schäfer sighs, smiles and says ‘potentially.’
VW design chief Andreas Mindt is even more enthusiastic: ‘my opinion is that you have to have names for Volkswagen. The original Beetle was called the Volkswagen 1200 – that’s not a name! But the audience immediately gave it one. Names are so human, and we want to chase this human element.’
As for the car itself, Schäfer says that the best-selling ID car’s update will be more than just a name change. ‘That has to be updated to the new design language, new interior.’ Its design, for example, will be brought closer towards the current combustion and hybrid Tiguan model.
The new ID. Tiguan will use MEB+, an updated version of VW Group’s battery-electric architecture that improves battery density and electric motor efficiency. ‘It’ll be a huge step up,’ assures Schäfer.
Volkswagen is also in the process of refining its interior design and technology offering, with head of design Andreas Mindt working with wider teams within the brand to include some crucial physical touch points in future cars. Physical controls will likely return to the ID. Tiguan to separate it from the very plasticky and touch-sensitive interior of the current one.
The new ID.4 is confirmed for production launch in 2026.