Next-Gen Volkswagen ID.4 — Or ‘ID Tiguan’? What We Know About VW’s 2026 EV Refresh

The New Volkswagen ID.4: A Big Refresh, Maybe a New Name — and Some Smarter Energy Tricks on the Horizon

Volkswagen is quietly gearing up for a major overhaul of its best-selling electric SUV, the ID.4. Due around 2026, this isn’t just a light facelift — from what we’re hearing, it’s going to be a proper rethink of the car, inside and out.

Now, a few credible reports from the likes of Auto Express, Car and Driver, and Electrive suggest VW is reworking everything from the design language to the software and even the name. Yes, you read that right — the name.

From ID Numbers to Familiar Names

There’s strong talk that Volkswagen plans to move away from the somewhat clinical ‘ID’ numbering system — ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 — and return to familiar, iconic badges. Word is the ID.4’s successor could well be rebadged as the ID. Tiguan, and the ID.3 might become the ID. Golf.

Thomas Schäfer, VW’s boss for passenger cars, has hinted it would be unwise to abandon household names like Golf and Tiguan just because the cars have gone electric. In other words, we could be heading back to simpler, more recognisable branding — and honestly, that’s no bad thing.

What’s Changing Under the Skin

Beyond the name, the 2026 model is expected to sit on an updated version of VW’s MEB platform — sometimes called MEB+ — designed to squeeze out more range and better efficiency. Expect a tidier, more aerodynamic shape, improved cabin materials, and, thankfully, the return of proper buttons for essential controls.

Performance-wise, there’s talk of modest but useful gains in range, helped by new battery chemistry and smarter energy management. And for those of us watching the smart energy angle, this is where things start to get really interesting.

Vehicle-to-Home: Quietly Becoming Real

Volkswagen has already begun rolling out bidirectional charging — the technology that lets an EV send power back to a home or, eventually, to the grid.

According to official VW newsroom updates and coverage in Electrive and WardsAuto, some ID models with the 77 kWh battery and ID Software 3.5 or higher can already do this in pilot programmes in Germany and Sweden. It’s still early days — we’re talking controlled pilots rather than mass rollout — but the foundations are solid. VW’s e-mobility division, Elli, has started testing 11 kW bidirectional wallboxes in real homes. If these trials go well, we could see mainstream ‘vehicle-to-home’ (V2H) support within a couple of years.

So while we can’t yet say every ID.4 or future ‘ID Tiguan’ will definitely power your house on day one, it’s fair to say Volkswagen is steering firmly in that direction.

When Can We Expect It?

Europe (incl. UK & Ireland): tipped for mid-to-late 2026; UK and Ireland typically follow the EU rollout closely.
North America: likely presented as a 2027 model year, arriving a little later than Europe.

For homeowners and EV fans in Ireland, this next wave of VW electrics could dovetail nicely with solar PV, home batteries, and smart energy systems — especially as bidirectional energy flow matures.

If it all comes together as planned, the new Volkswagen ID.4 — or ID Tiguan, as it may soon be called — won’t just be another EV. It could become a genuine part of your home energy ecosystem.