Volkswagen ID.4 to become ID.Tiguan in 2026 with huge update

The Volkswagen ID.4 will be so thoroughly updated next year that it’ll warrant a completely new identity, Auto Express can confirm. The changes will be so significant, it’ll be reincarnated as the Volkswagen ID.Tiguan – despite having only been on sale for four years.

“ID.4 is our major-selling vehicle; it has to be in that space”, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Thomas Schafer, told us. He said the car “has to be updated to the new design language, the interior – it’s a fantastic car.

“The ID.4 will get the MEB+ [platform], with the new battery, the cells; LFP technology and all that is coming in. It’s going to be a huge step up from today’s car”, Schafer said.

When pressed on whether or not these changes would see the ID.4 reborn as the ID.Tiguan – following in the footsteps of the ID.2all, which will reach production later this year as the ID.Polo – Schafer smiled, shrugged and said: “That hasn’t been confirmed – that would be speculation”.

Speaking to Auto Express at an event earlier in the year, a Volkswagen representative said the new ID.4 will be revealed in late 2026 and that in terms of design, “everything on the outside will be different. The swooping styling will be cleaner.” They also added “the interior will be completely different as well”, probably with more physical buttons, for things like the steering wheel and climate controls. We’re hoping the updates to the cabin will extend to its quality too; the current ID.4 has been often criticised here – an area where VW is usually so strong.

The total number of changes for the new ID.4 “will be like the change from Mk5 to Mk6 Golf”. Those two models used the same underpinnings, but the later edition was referred to as a new generation by Volkswagen. 

The ID.4 is currently offered with 52kWh and 77kWh batteries, and either a single-motor rear-wheel-drive layout or dual-motor all-wheel-drive set-up. The move to LFP technology may see capacities change and range improve, but Volkswagen has so far stopped short of detailing any specifics.

Schafer confirmed that while the smaller ID.3 will also get an extensive range of updates, the styling upgrades will be less substantial, focusing mainly on the interior. The hatchback is therefore unlikely to inherit the ID.Golf name at this time, with chief designer Andreas Mindt admitting anything with a Golf badge on the boot brings “the highest pressure. We are not allowed to make any mistakes”, he told us.

If 2027 is too long to wait for Volkswagen’s updated ID.4, then head over to our Find a Car page, where you’ll find plenty of deals on the Skoda Enyaq – the ID.4’s classy cousin.