Volkswagen ID. Tiguan replaces ID.4 as familiar names return to VW’s electric range

Volkswagen is continuing its move away from standalone numbers for its electric cars, confirming that the ID.4 and ID.5 will be replaced by an all-new electric SUV called the ID. Tiguan. It’s another sign that the brand is bringing its electric and combustion-powered ranges closer together, using familiar names to make it immediately obvious where its latest EVs fit. For anyone thinking about their next lease, it’s the sort of detail that should make navigating the expanding Volkswagen line-up considerably simpler.

The newcomer will be unveiled in early October before arriving in markets at the beginning of 2027, although a specific UK launch date has yet to be announced.

More importantly for drivers trying to make sense of an increasingly complicated new-car market, the ID. Tiguan will sit alongside the existing Tiguan rather than replace it. That means customers will eventually be able to choose between electric, petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains while looking for broadly the same type of family SUV.

So, we’re essentially looking at a completely new electric SUV with a very familiar name.

The decision is part of Volkswagen's new strategy of attaching established names to its future electric models. It follows the ID. Polo and ID. Cross and arguably makes considerably more sense than asking drivers to remember an entirely separate collection of names simply because the cars happen to run on electricity.

The Tiguan name certainly carries plenty of weight. More than 8.3 million have been produced, and Volkswagen says it is currently the best-selling model worldwide for both the VW brand and the wider Volkswagen Group.

That doesn't mean the outgoing ID.4 and ID.5 have been failures. More than 950,000 have been delivered since 2021, but bringing their successor under the Tiguan umbrella gives potential lease customers a much clearer idea of where the new electric SUV fits into Volkswagen's range.

It won't simply be an ID.4 with a different badge, either.

Volkswagen describes the ID. Tiguan as a new-generation electric SUV with a completely new design, promising generous interior space, straightforward operation and new technology. Early reports suggest that it will use Volkswagen's updated MEB+ electric platform, although plenty of the important details remain under wraps. Battery capacities, driving range, charging speeds and power outputs are still to be confirmed, so we'll have to wait for the full reveal before discovering exactly what the new ID. Tiguan will offer.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect is what the name change says about Volkswagen's electric-car strategy. Rather than treating EVs as something fundamentally separate, the ID. Tiguan lets drivers start with a type of car they already understand and then choose the powertrain that suits them.

For lease customers, that's a refreshingly simple idea.

If you want to lease a Tiguan but aren't ready for electric power, the established petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid versions aren't going anywhere. If you are ready to make the switch, there will soon be an ID. Tiguan sitting alongside them.

We’re not suggesting anything as dramatic as a Damascene moment on the road to Wolfsburg, but perhaps the higher-ups at VW have finally worked out that making the future feel familiar might be easier than inventing another name for it.