Volkswagen has begun the development of an all-new electric SUV based on the popular ID 3 hatchback sold in other markets. According to the automaker, this new SUV will be aimed at capitalizing on the still-expanding global small SUV market.
According to VW CEO Thomas Schafer, the company is “working hard to develop an additional compact SUV based on the ID 3 so that we can launch a Volkswagen product in this fast-growing vehicle segment.” When it arrives before 2026, this new SUV will look very different from the ID 3. It will not be a Russian-doll style.
The Volkswagen ID 4 is the German brand’s smallest electric SUV at the moment, sharing the MEB platform with the ID 3, but it has a much larger footprint than its hatchback counterpart.
Volkswagen will also launch two versions of its highly anticipated entry-level EV, which Schafer describes as “a small car and a sporty crossover variant.” They will be similar, albeit electric, to the current-generation Volkswagen Polo – likely to be dubbed the VW ID 1 – and Volkswagen T-Cross SUV, which is sold in other markets.
These are among ten new EVs, including facelifts of current models, that will be introduced by 2026, according to Schafer, giving VW the broadest electric portfolio in the automotive industry. With these two new EVs and the upcoming ID 7 Aero EV sedan, the German automaker intends to have a product in almost every market segment worldwide.
Meanwhile, the MEB platform will be phased out later this decade, replaced by a new architecture known as SSP (scalable systems platform), on which all volume-selling Volkswagen Group models will be based.
