VW may revive the Golf name, and shape, for an upcoming EV

Volkswagen sometimes struggles with naming its vehicles for the United States market. Take the case of the Rabbit in the mid-70s that became the Golf (for gulf stream, not the game) then became the Rabbit again before it became the Golf again. The Golf is only barely still in the U.S., with the only model actually badged as such being the Golf R (the GTI has no “Golf” badges).

Well, the little hatchback is having a comeback… perhaps. Call the idea Rabbit Redux: goodbye to ID.2, hello to all-electric Golf.

Apparently the company’s ID-branded stylings and names are too bland and so far have met with “less than lukewarm” receptions among customers and VW execs, according to Autocar, hence the revival of the Golf name for the concept formerly named ID.2.

VW isn’t the only company dropping electric initials. We reported in January that Mercedes-Benz is set to drop the EQ product brand naming for battery-electric cars by the end of next year. The decision was based on Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius’s idea that the initials were redundant as Mercedes turns away from the combustion engine.

But as for this ID.2/Golf, Autocar’s unnamed sources at Autocar also say it will be the first Volkswagen model based on the new MEB-Plus platform and using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic battery cells. It will reportedly receive a more conventional hatchback shape with “the sort of interior space of models typically one segment higher.” The decision to go with a traditional hatchback shape is reportedly a result of a rather tepid response to the “ID.Life” concept from 2020.

It’s expected to cost around $24,000, but it’s unclear if the car will be sold in the States. If in fact comes to America, the model, Autocar speculates, could also lead to production of a tweaked electric GTI version.

For readers intrigued about other bits of Volkwagen’s naming lore beyond ID.4 and ID.Buzz and ID.Whatever, the list might include Scirocco and Jetta (both winds), Eos and Phaeton (Greek gods), Tiguan (a melange of animals), Corrado (from the Spanish verb correr, meaning to run), and, of course, Beetle. Not long after it first appeared on German roads, the Volkswagen Type 1 was dubbed the Käfer – or Beetle. Other nicknames: “the bubble” in Denmark; coccinelle, or ladybug, in France, and “turtle car” in Thailand. And in the country that built both old and new (well, also now old) Beetles, Mexico, they’re often called vochos.

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