- Volkswagen is reportedly renaming the ID.4 electric crossover the ID. Tiguan
Imagine giving your kid an outside-the-box name only to realize years later that something like “Jason” might’ve actually spared them some ridicule at school. Some car companies find themselves in a similar position with their electric vehicle lineups right now.
Automakers are resetting their EV strategies in a meaningful way this year, with better software, improved in-vehicle tech, faster charging speeds and ample driving range. It seems like after years of engineering and development pains, they’re finally getting EVs right.
And yet, somehow, they’re still tripping over basics like model names and marketing. That appears to be changing as well. On Friday, Automotive News reported that the Volkswagen ID.4 crossover will be renamed to the ID. Tiguan, citing Germany’s IG Metall labor union. That name that should sound familiar to anybody who’s perused the catalog of gas-powered VW crossovers lately.
And VW isn’t the only car company that’s overhauling naming conventions for its electric cars.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
A key part of this reset involves abandoning awkward, futuristic-sounding names in favor of simpler, familiar ones borrowed from their popular gas cars. Familiarity breeds confidence, and confidence is extremely important, especially while selling new technology.
But throw in names such as Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4Matic with EQ Technology or Toyota bZ4x, and you’re inviting trouble. Selling a new electric lifestyle is hard enough in the first place. Adding names that sound like WiFi passwords isn’t going to help with sales.
To be fair, legacy automakers have a tougher job than startups like Tesla or Rivian. They carry history and baggage. Relying on decades-old nameplates can add meaning and trust, while adding convoluted branding can confuse or even alienate buyers.
The good news is that automakers seem keenly aware of the problem and are finally addressing it.
Volkswagen said last year it was rolling out a new, more intuitive naming strategy across its ID. lineup of EVs to give its electric options better name recognition. Future models will borrow names from the brand’s gas-powered lineup, the company said, suggesting an end to number-based model names like the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.7. The company said that would kick off with the ID. 2all concept, which will simply be called the ID. Polo in production form.
The goal is to bring gasoline and electric lineups closer together, while making it easier for customers to understand vehicle size and positioning, Volkswagen said. A company spokesperson declined to comment on Friday’s report about the ID.4.
2024 Merceds G 580 with EQ Technology
Mercedes-Benz is moving in the same direction. Its first-gen EVs, such as the EQE and EQS, were deliberately positioned as electric alternatives to the E-Class and S-Class. The latest models adopted a slightly different, arguably clunkier protocol of adding “with EQ Technology” to a standard Mercedes nameplate.
The electric version of the G-Wagen, for example, is called the G580 with EQ Technology. Kind of a mouthful.
Now, Mercedes plans to switch up the “with EQ Technology” bit too, the company’s CTO, Markus Schäfer, told Edmunds. He said that boldly differentiating between electric and gas models isn’t as necessary anymore, and he hinted that Mercedes may give its EVs the same alphanumeric names as their gas counterparts, potentially adding the word “Electric” where needed.
Others are following suit. Toyota quietly cleaned up its plug-in hybrid branding last year. The RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime are now spelled out as RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid and Prius Plug-In Hybrid on its website. Potential buyers don’t have to keep guessing what “Prime” means anymore.
A bigger shift came last year when Toyota dropped the odd bZ4x name for its electric crossover in favor of bZ, short for “beyond zero.”
Photo by: Toyota
Audi seems to have settled on a consistent alphanumeric approach. Its first modern electric SUV debuted as the E-Tron, only to be renamed the Q8 E-Tron.
For a little while, the company said its electric models would be denoted by even numbers (A6, Q6, etc.) while its combustion vehicles would always use odd numbers (A5, Q7, and so on). Last year, Audi changed tack, aligning EVs more clearly with their combustion siblings. The odd/even idea is over, and future electric Audis may have the exact same name as a combustion counterpart—just with the “E-Tron” label added on.
Volvo also reset its EV naming strategy last year, taking almost the opposite approach. The XC40 Recharge was renamed the EX40, a pattern the automaker is replicating for all segments with names like EX90, EX60 and EX30. Gas and plug-in hybrid versions continue with the “XC” names.
These may look like small changes on paper. But they may wind up making EVs feel less foreign to new and returning buyers.
Will all of these names change again in a couple of years? Quite possibly. Until the day when “electric cars” and “cars” become one and the same, we’re bound to see more marketing experiments and shakeups.
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