► Return of the electric Golf confirmed
► ID. Golf in development, says boss
► VW protects iconic badges, mixes with ID
The new Volkswagen CEO has revealed that the company will protect its most iconic model names – meaning that global favourites like Golf will not be subsumed by the onslaught of the ID. electric range.
Thomas Schäfer, the new VW CEO appointed in summer 2022, revealed that the company was preparing to protect its best-loved badges. He said there was no logical reason why they could not work in tandem with the ID. sub-brand used for the first wave of electric vehicles (EVs).
‘The reality is that both have their reason to stay,’ he told CAR at the LA auto show. ‘ID is a really well-known logo for electrification. People associate it with electrification and that is good. We clinicked it, we had feedback that the connection between Volkswagen and ID works. There is no reason to cancel it or redo it completely.
‘But we also have iconic brand names – Golf, GTI – these are standalone brand names on their own. You’d be crazy to let them die, to let them just slip away. Are all the names ionic? No. Some of them are regionally iconic, but not globally iconic.’
VW electric cars: a guide
How Volkswagen is deciding which model names to protect
The VW board is fine-tuning its model range for the coming decade and Schäfer confirmed that blending historical badges – like Golf or Polo – with ID could be a smart way to electrify core models. This assuages fears that the inevitable electrification of the entire line-up would replace well-loved names with ID.something.
‘At the moment we are working out the future line-up and naming logic so that we probably stick with ID logic, but at the same time the iconic models will carry their name,’ he said.
The boss pledged that mixing the ID. moniker with model names was already proven to be a good fit. ‘We have the ID.Buzz and it just works.’
When asked if that meant that Wolfsburg could launch a VW ID. Golf, he replied: ‘We might.’
If Golf is a keeper, what about the Polo?
‘Polo is pretty iconic too, I’d say,’ Schäfer replied. ‘Is it iconic enough to carry it or not? It’s not quite clear yet. We haven’t really decided yet.
‘Golf is definitely one of them that we will keep. There is just no way we’d let that name go. The other ones we’re just deciding at the moment. You don’t want to do it too often, you know – you can’t transfer everything from the old portfolio. That’s not what we want to do. But some iconic stuff we’re definitely going to do.’