The Wolfsburg-based carmaker is already planning the next step in its transition to electric power. After the ID.3 (for the European market only), the ID.4 (which has just started North American production at the Chattanooga plant in Tennessee) and the ID.5, Volkswagen is of course preparing the arrival of the ID.BUZZ, but there’s much more on the automotive giant’s horizon, including another, smaller crossover based on the ID.3.
At least that’s what the brand’s chief operating officer, Thomas Schäfer, revealed in an interview with British website Autocar, the vehicle to be launched before 2026. However, we should not expect an elevated ID.3, the main interested party who also confirmed that this new model would be radically different from the city car with dimensions similar to those of a Golf.
Unsurprisingly, the automaker wants to expand its EV lineup at the expense of its gasoline-powered lineup, with the new electric crossover part of an offensive of 10 new models launched by 2026.
Of course, there’s the new crossover, which could even be called simply ID.3 X, the letter “X” that could eventually be emblazoned on the sides of all of the brand’s utility vehicles.
There’s also the ID.Aero sedan, which will become a direct rival to the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, in particular, the car that could also be offered in a wagon version, especially on the other side of the Atlantic where this type of bodywork is still popular with consumers.
We can also expect to see a smaller city car than the ID.3, but it would be surprising if this model crossed the ocean and ended up on the North American continent. And it’s a bit of a similar story for the ID.3 GTX, a sort of electron-powered Golf GTI. By the way, we should also mention that the ID.3 and ID.4 will eventually get a slight mid-course makeover.
Let’s just say that the goal of the strategists behind this other electric offensive is to offer the widest range of electric vehicles in the industry, and Volkswagen will have to speed up production if it wants to catch up with Tesla, which already has a head start.
Still, we’ll have to watch how Volkswagen handles the phasing out of its popular gasoline-powered models. The Passat will be redesigned for 2023, but that one will be confined to Europe, as well as keeping only the wagon version, while a new Tiguan is also on the way, the crossover that is expected in 2024. In this case, it’s clear that Volkswagen will continue to market the latter here.
