Volkswagen’s next electric SUV is almost here, and it’s not just a rebadged ID.4 [Images]
![Volkswagen’s next electric SUV is almost here, and it’s not just a rebadged ID.4 [Images]](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/01/Volkswagen-ID.4-refresh.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1400)
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- Volkswagen announced in April it will end ID.4 production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, shifting the facility to gas-powered SUVs like the three-row Atlas as gas prices spiked.
- ID. Tiguan spy images reveal a more traditional SUV shape with a squared-off front end, new headlights, a redesigned hood, and new doors with pop-out handles that more closely resemble the gas Tiguan.
- VW's MEB+ platform will underpin the ID. Tiguan — the same architecture used by the ID. Polo and ID.3 Neo — with battery and electric-drive updates expected to improve range and charging speeds over the current ID.4.
- The ID.4 currently runs an 82 kWh battery with an EPA-estimated range up to 291 miles in RWD and around 263 miles in AWD, with WLTP ratings up to 351 miles (566 km).
- The interior is expected to adopt VW's new cabin design, reintroducing physical buttons for climate control and other functions after driver feedback criticized the touchscreen-only layout.
- Production of the ID. Tiguan will take place at VW's Emden, Germany plant, where it replaces ID.4 output, while the Chattanooga plant pivots to the 18 mpg Atlas.
- VW's naming shift continues with the ID. Tiguan following the ID. Polo and ID. Cross, rebranding the ID.4 to adopt the best-selling Tiguan nameplate as part of the brand's move away from the number system.
Why it matters: VW is killing ID.4 production at its only US plant to make gas-powered Atlas SUVs instead — a notable retreat from US EV manufacturing — even as it reboots the EV globally as the ID. Tiguan with a new design and MEB+ architecture. The split signals the ID.4 didn't meet US demand expectations, yet VW is still committing to refreshed electric SUVs for other markets.
