VW ID.3 and ID.4 to be updated in 2026
The ID.3 and the larger ID.4 are due for their second major update since market launch next year. The smaller electric car will be launched in the second quarter, with the revised ID.4 to follow by the end of 2026. It is already known that the duo will be technically converted to the improved MEB+ basis. Kai Grünitz, Head of Technical Development at VW, has now added to Autocar that the ID.3 will adopt the new design language that was first presented in 2023 with the ID.2all Concept. Grünitz also hints that the ID.4 will undergo a similar design overhaul. Autocar also reports that the revised electric vehicles will benefit from efficiency and performance improvements.
We recently outlined the specific steps Volkswagen intends to take with its electric vehicle model portfolio by 2028 in a detailed background report. One thing is clear: VW is aiming to start production of the ID.3 based on the MEB+ in June of next year. In terms of traction batteries, there will be a basic version with LFP cells for the first time – similar to the upcoming ID.2. The APP310 electric motor will have a successor, which, like the APP550, will be more economical. This, in turn, is good for the range. The completely new ID.4 will also make its debut in 2026 with even more energy content in the traction battery.
Meanwhile, visual changes have not only been confirmed on the outside of the front, but also on the inside. There will be more haptic controls again. Kai Grünitz told Autocar that both electric models will have a new dashboard and a new user interface, among other things. The changes include the removal of some digital display functions and the controversial sliders. Instead, several physical buttons and controls are returning, for example, for volume control.
VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer reaffirmed in mid-May that the MEB+ will be introduced as an improved electric modular system at Volkswagen. Its introduction is scheduled to begin in 2026 following the launch of the VW ID.2 (which itself is based on the MEB Entry).
The MEB+ platform is intended to keep VW’s electric model range fresh until the already-delayed launch of the SSP platform. Specifically, the platform is a billion-euro expansion of the current MEB modular system. In September 2024, however, the German business publication Manager Magazin reported, with reference to its own research, that Volkswagen is considering cutting investments by around 20 billion euros in the next medium-term planning. According to the report at the time, one of the projects that was apparently being scrutinised as part of the course correction was the refresh of the MEB electric toolkit, which was to take effect from 2026. As Manager Magazin also wrote at the time, CFO Arno Antlitz in particular was probably in favour of the first SSP vehicles directly following the MEB vehicles “sometime from 2028″vin view of the figures.
However, this will not happen now. The MEB+ is planned for 2026, as is the use of LFP cells for the ID.2, which is based on the MEB Entry (or MEB Small). The background to this is that LFP cells are considered essential in the industry in order to reduce the costs of electric cars in the price-sensitive segment. And Volkswagen intends to show off with a €25,000 base version for the upcoming ID.2 and the other offshoots of its sister brands. The small car family also indirectly marks the launch of the MEB+. This is because the MEB Entry is, to a certain extent, the short version of the MEB+ with front-wheel drive, while the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7 remain rear-wheel drive.
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