Volkswagen Id.4 News

The Volkswagen GTX badge is a stopgap, as the German carmaker transitions to an all-electric future. For the moment, hot versions of the ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 and ID.Buzz will retain GTX insignia, but over time GTI and R will transition to spicy electric VWs, according to British publication Autocar."GTX is the performance brand of the MEB , but we'll work our way back to GTI and R in the next products going forward," Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer told the outlet.The changes are expected to start with the production version of Volkswagen’s 2023 ID GTI concept, the sporty variant of the ID.2 small car sitting on the MEB Small platform. Some publications have called it a Golf GTI replacement, though proportionally it more closely resembles a Polo GTI.Schäfer admitted to Autocar that GTI badging has historically been reserved for front-wheel drive performance models, and positioning may need to be adjusted. GTX models so far have been AWD (ID.4, ID.5, ID.Buzz) or rear-wheel drive (ID.3).Meanwhile R models pack a bit more punch with all-wheel drive in Volkswagen land. The brand has previously mooted a Golf R electric follow up could emerge by 2029.Expect GTX badges to live on for now on Volkswagen MEB-based performance products though it’s unlikely that Volkswagen will broaden its GTX offering. With Schäfer’s comments that GTX is for MEB only, we can expect changes to Volkswagen’s performance-oriented naming from around 2026 when the first model based on the new Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) – a successor to both MEB and PPE – is expected.

The wait is over for those looking to buy Volkswagen electric vehicle with features and specs for the ID.4 and ID.5 EV SUVs announced ahead of their arrival in August

Badge-engineered cars. It’s been happening almost as long as the industry itself. Some pull off the disguise so convincingly you’d never know their true identities, like John Travolta’s face-switcheroo with Nicolas Cage in 1997’s immensely silly/fun Face/Off. Others, meanwhile, are about as convincing as donning a Groucho Marx nose and glasses.

Lucky us! Volkswagen's upcoming ID.4 and ID.5 have been updated with more equipment and grunt before they've even arrived in Australia

Volkswagen’s collaboration with an upcoming animated family film has produced a surprising byproduct - there could be a new electric VW Beetle on the way.

Cupra says Australia's warm welcome to the brand has allowed to to secure additional supply of its headline-grabbing electric hatchback.

After a long delay on EVs for Australia, Volkswagen is finally opening the floodgates.

At last, it seems a car-maker has realised just how silly it is to have an entirely different brand name for its electric car line-up. Yes, Mercedes-Benz sounds as though it's going to drop its EQ brand name for its EVs, because it’s all going electric, right? So what’s the point? Now we just have to wait for all the other car manufacturers to realise that it was all a big mistake.Yep, last week I wrote a story about how Mercedes-Benz was rumoured to be planning to axe its EQ sub-brand name.Currently, Mercedes-Benz uses EQ to denote an electric vehicle in its line-up. There’s the EQB which is an electric version of the GLB, the EQE which is an electric E-Class, and so on. Well, a Reuters report questioned Mercedes-Benz over the rumours to which the car maker responded with this statement:“With the goal of our parent Mercedes-Benz becoming fully electric by the end of the decade, we will adapt the positioning of the vehicles and thus the use of the brand in line with the times, but it is too early for details on this at the moment.”Sounds very much like the bosses at Benz have realised the whole EQ thing was not a very good idea. An electric E-Class in the future will be an E-Class, as there won’t be a combustion engine version.So what about the rest of the carmakers who have also gone down the same dead-end street?I’m looking at you Hyundai with your Ioniq brand - your Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. Great cars, but why not just use your existing nameplates such as i30 and Tucson and Santa Fe? Are you going to throw those in the bin?And Volkswagen. You’re doing it, too. There’s the ID.3 which is obviously being lined up to replace the Golf. The Golf, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Nice birthday present. You're old, get out. Word is, Volkswagen will keep the Golf name for that petrol car only for as long as it exists and the same goes for Polo, Tiguan, Passat and the rest. You can get sentimental about a 2009 Golf GTI, but will anybody be looking back on their ID.3 the same way? And Kia with your imaginatively named EV6 and EV9. I’m being sarcastic, Kia. Come on, these aren’t phones or computers we're talking about. Sure, Carnival probably isn't the best name and neither is Stonic, nor Seltos or Sportage and what was going on with Pro_ceed GT? But that’s beside the point. When it comes to names give me a Sportage Electric over an EV6 any day.BMW your names have always been extremely methodical and read like a list of ammunition supplies. When you did try to start bringing in actual words you messed it all up with things like Gran Coupe, but at least your electric names aren’t completely ridiculous. Then iX, the i4, the i7 -  they make sense even if the whole ‘i’ thing is as out of date as an iPod.And Audi. Don’t even get me started on e-tron.Why do we have these EV sub brands when the whole car industry is going to go electric anyway? Well, it could be because vehicle development plans can stretch decades ahead. They need to create a name separate to the current line-up as the new electric vehicles will be on entirely different platforms, so they are essentially totally different cars.Car-makers could also be protecting their breadwinning petrol and diesel models too, from the potential failure of electric models by keeping them in separate ‘baskets’ until the EV models start to prove themselves and pay their way.These electric sub-brands could be being used as testing labs until the technology, the charging, the batteries and the cars are good enough to wear the regular nameplates?So what’s going to happen? Are we going to go through a whole series of Final Edition i30s and Farewell Special Golfs, or will car companies see the light like Mercedes-Benz it seems and drop the electric sub-brand name thing altogether?Well, it will come down to money. If the car company feels that losing a loved nameplate is detrimental in how customers view and connect with the brand, and especially if the action significantly affects sales, then you’ll probably see the name stay… or return.Imagine the fanfare (and the sales) around bringing back the Golf nameplate after everybody thought it was long gone.Perhaps that’s been the plan all along…

Volkswagen Australia admits it has been slow to join the electric vehicle market but has revealed how it will play catch up. The German giant has announced plans for 10 electric models by 2026, with many already locked in for local sale.

Volkswagen says it is logical the ID.4 will have an extensive waiting list from launch.