VW rumoured to turn the ID.2 into ID. Golf
According to a British media report, VW’s small electric car planned for 2025 will be called the ID. Golf and be the first model to use the MEB+ platform. Apparently, there will be a new study of the model in March – with the revised design and possibly a new name.
This is reported by Autocar with reference to insider information. VW presented the first concept of the upcoming small electric car in 2021 with the show car ID. Life, but later decided to revise the design. According to information from Autocar, a new concept for the small electric car with a more conventional hatchback shape will be presented under the new head of design Andreas Mindt in March 2023. And the name ID.2, previously planned for the series version, will apparently also be changed. Instead, the electric car will be called ID. Golf instead.
Brand boss Thomas Schäfer had already hinted at a possible ID. Golf was hinted at. At that time, he said that an electric Golf could well exist alongside the ID.3 and bear the designation ID. Golf. Since a current Golf 8 is even two centimetres longer than the ID.3 at 4.28 metres, a potential ID. Golf would be positioned slightly below the ID.3. For classification: The ID. Life concept was 4.01 metres long. This is also confirmed by the Autocar sources, according to which the designation ID. Golf was not intended for an ID.3 facelift because “the true value of the Volkswagen Golf lies in a car the size of an ID.2”. In other words, the four-metre class.
However, the insider information from Autocar does not only concern the model name, but also the technology. According to this, the ID. Golf will be the first model to use the Group’s advanced MEB+ modular system. Volkswagen officially confirmed the MEB+ in December 2022. The enhanced modular system differs from the current MEB, among other things, in that it uses the VW Group’s new unit cell. This should allow for more range and shorter charging times. However, it remains a 400-volt system, so more than 200 kW charging power is not possible. More details, such as the specific battery sizes, are not yet known.
An interesting detail: Autocar explicitly mentions LFP cells in connection with the small car. This has long been suspected for the ID.2 and such considerations were also more or less directly confirmed by the then VW Group CEO Herbert Diess. But so far there has been no mention of LFP cell chemistry in connection with the VW unit cell, which is to be produced in Salzgitter from 2025. What will actually happen here remains to be seen.
On the other hand, it has already been decided where the electric car will be built – whether as an ID.2 or ID. Golf. As reported, it will be produced together with its Cupra counterpart at Seat’s Martorell plant near Barcelona from 2025. A spin-off from Skoda is also planned at a later date.
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