Volkswagen replaces ID.4 with all-electric Tiguan

Volkswagen’s decision to swap the ID.4 for an electric Tiguan is less a product surprise and more a strategic confession. The ID.4 was supposed to be VW’s mainstream EV crossover, but its generic name and lukewarm reception made it just another electric car in a crowded market. By resurrecting the Tiguan badge, VW is betting that consumers will trust what they already know — a familiar silhouette and a nameplate with years of gas-powered credibility — even when the drivetrain changes. This is part of a broader trend in the auto industry: legacy automakers are realizing that EV sub-brands and new alphanumeric names often fail to generate the same emotional pull as heritage nameplates. Ford has leaned on Mustang for the Mach-E, and now VW is doing the same with Tiguan. It’s a safe play, but it also raises a question: if the product is genuinely good, why does the name matter so much? The answer is that in the current EV market, perception is as important as engineering. The ID.Tiguan also highlights the awkward middle phase of electrification. VW isn’t abandoning its ID line entirely, but it’s clearly repositioning it. The company seems to be saying that EVs need to stop feeling like a separate category and instead become natural extensions of the models people already buy. That’s a reasonable strategy, but it also risks diluting the distinct identity that EV-focused buyers may want. Still, the move makes sense from a business perspective. The Tiguan has been a strong seller for VW, and attaching an electric powertrain to a known quantity could help ease range anxiety and skepticism among mainstream buyers. Whether it will be enough to compete with the likes of Tesla and the growing wave of Chinese EVs remains to be seen. But VW is clearly betting that brand recognition will carry more weight than innovation for its next electric crossover. Source: https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1001418/volkswagen-replaces-id4-id-tiguan-ev