VW Is Going Back To Its Roots In 2026
Things are not going well at Volkswagen. It desperately needs to cut costs fast or risk going out of business, and it’s just had a leadership change in North America thanks to EV uncertainty. But across the pond, executives have high hopes for the near future, promising to provide more compelling products that people actually want to buy. Speaking to Autocar at the LA Auto Show, VW R&D head Kai Grünitz said that the German automaker will revamp its entire electric lineup from 2026, with improvements to the Modular Electric Drive (MEB) architecture that underpins cars like the ID.4 and the ID. Buzz. Styling will also be revised.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a mainstream automaker founded by the German Labour Front in 1937 as the “people’s car” company. Famous for the Volkswagen Beetle, Type 2 Bus, and modern classics like the Golf and Jetta, Volkswagen has emerged as one of the world’s largest automakers and a subsection of the larger Volkswagen Group, which either directly or indirectly owns controlling stakes in Porsche, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Rimac, Seat, and more.
- Founded
- 28 May 1937
- Founder
- German Labour Front
- Headquarters
- Wolfsburg, Germany
- Owned By
- Volkswagen Group
- Current CEO
- Thomas Schaefer
Going Back
Grünitz told the publication that there would be “huge improvements” to these cars, adding that the all-new aesthetic these will present is “going back to where we came from.” We know that the ID.2all concept revealed last year will inform the styling of the next Golf, with former Bentley designer Andreas Mindt in charge. Grünitz says that he will be tasked with giving this design language an appearance showing “what Volkswagen stands for” stylistically, aiming to make VW a “loved brand” again.
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He also alluded to lower batter costs, improved performances, and new functions.The production version of the ID.2all concept was originally scheduled to alunch in late 2025 or early 2026, and despite uncertainty in the EV space, that reamins on track. The executive promised Autocar that “customers will see there has been a change, and a much bigger change than expected.”
An SUV Is Coming, Of Course
The R&D boss confirmed that an SUV with this new styling language will be presented at the Munich Motor Show in September next year, the second model on this updated MEB Entry platform. We can also expect a GTI version of the Golf-sized ID.2 hatch, which Grünitz says will feature “ideas that you’ll be surprised [by]” in 2026. In other recent news, VW will borrow software stacks from Rivian.
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As for combustion cars, the incoming Euro 7 emissions legislation will result in a “slimmer” lineup, but also more hybrid variants than before as the 1,700-horsepower-capable Scalable Systems Platform electric architecture is continually refined, with the ultimate goal of underpinning nearly every sort of vehicle in the VW Group. CarBuzz recently spoke to Volkswagen about just such a subject, after the new Tiguan debuted without any electrified powertrain options. Director of Public Relations and Reputation for Volkswagen Group of America, Mark Gilles, said that the company is “looking at” hybrids, adding that “being late on hybrids might actually be a good thing.” We’ll see in 2026 if this pays off, but as we alluded to at the outset, that may be all the time VW has.
Source:
Autocar