Volkswagen Has Finally Realized Its ID. Naming Scheme Needs A Do-Over

Naming cars is hard. For every Thunderbird and 4Runner, there’s something that gets lost in the shuffle, and that’s usually some sort of alphanumeric. The McLaren MP4-12C was a proper supercar, but it had the name of a dishwasher. At the same time, does any member of the general public know how big a Polestar 5 is? What happens when Kia runs out of numbers to put after “EV”? See what I mean. Thankfully, another automaker has seen the light. Volkswagen seems to have realized that its EV naming scheme of ID. and then a number was kind of foolish, and it’s determined to change.

For the most part, automakers historically haven’t been great at naming electric cars. A few years ago, there was this virtually industry-wide trend that EVs would be their own model ranges with their own identities, and that’s how we got names like the virtually incomprehensible Toyota bZ4X, oddly-sequenced Polestar 4, and yes, the Volkswagen ID.4. Character soup like this can work when you’re only selling one EV, but expand that lineup and things get lost in the shuffle. Clearly, something needs to change.

A couple of years ago, Volkswagen showed off an electric hatchback concept. It was small, it was sensible, it looked great, and it addressed loads of complaints about physical controls and potential production cost. The only problem is that it was called the ID. 2all, which sounds like the British government’s idea of cyber regulation, and could potentially cause a search engine problem as all sorts of people insert an unnecessary space or take one away. Thankfully, names can change before production, and this one has. Volkswagen is showing off a camouflaged prototype of the production car at IAA Munich this year, and it comes with an announcement. As CEO Thomas Schäfer said:

Our model names are firmly anchored in people’s minds. They stand for a strong brand and embody characteristics such as quality, timeless design and technologies for all. That’s why we’re moving our well-known names into the future. The ID. Polo is just the beginning.

Yep, the ID. 2all is becoming the ID. Polo, because most of the world already knows what the Polo is. It’s a hugely successful subcompact car, with more than 13 million sold over the model name’s run. Perhaps the dam started to break with the ID. Buzz, as last I checked, “Buzz” doesn’t have a direct Arabic numeral depiction.

There’s another good reason to go with names over numbers: The ID.3 is a tall hatchback, and the ID.4 is a compact crossover. If Volkswagen wanted to make, say, an electric subcompact crossover, what number would it get? An ID.3.5 would just sound like a variant of the ID.3 and seems like a largely nonsensical name, so replacing numbers with model names just makes sense. Indeed, the company’s future subcompact electric crossover will be the ID. Cross as it’s the battery-powered equivalent to the T-Cross.

Names for EVs just make sense. Mercedes-Benz is pivoting back with new electric cars like the CLA with EQ Technology, Ford has always been on that wave, including piggybacking an electric crossover using the Mustang name, and even Toyota has been simplifying. For most markets, the bZ4X is now simply the bZ. It’s about time more EV model names started having more clarity, and Volkswagen likely won’t be the last to revise its naming strategy.

Top graphic image: Volkswagen

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