Volkswagen’s upcoming affordable electric small car is reportedly set to be called the ID. Up, replacing the previously expected ID.1 designation. The model is scheduled to launch in autumn 2027 with a target starting price of around €20,000 and is expected to be manufactured at Volkswagen’s Palmela plant in Portugal.
The name has not been officially announced by Volkswagen Group, but Spanish automotive publication Motor.es reports that Volkswagen has already finalized the designation.
Volkswagen Returns to Familiar Model Names
Volkswagen has been moving away from using numbers alone for its electric vehicles.
The company previously indicated that its new €25,000 electric model would not be called the ID.2. Instead, it adopted the ID. Polo name, following a strategy of using established model names for its electric lineup.
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The ID. Polo was unveiled in April, with Volkswagen preparing to hold its dealer premiere in Germany from September 4 to 6 under the “ID. Polo Days” banner.
The reported ID. Up name would continue this naming strategy while reconnecting Volkswagen’s electric city car with the Up nameplate.
Production Planned for Portugal
The reported ID. Up is expected to enter production at Volkswagen’s Palmela facility in Portugal from mid-2027.
The production model is expected to closely follow the dimensions and concept of the ID. EVERY1, which Volkswagen presented in March 2025.
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The electric city car is expected to measure approximately 3.88 metres in length and 1.81 metres in width. That would position it between the discontinued e-Up, at 3.60 metres, and the new ID. Polo, at 4.05 metres.
Volkswagen has not yet disclosed final production specifications for the ID. Up.
Up Name Returns to Electric Lineup
The ID. Up designation would revive a name Volkswagen previously used for its small city car.
The e-Up was Volkswagen’s first battery-electric city car and was discontinued alongside the combustion-engine Up in autumn 2023.
According to Motor.es, Volkswagen also considered the ID. Lupo name for the new electric model. The Lupo name was previously used for a small petrol-powered Volkswagen produced between 1998 and 2005.
Broader Electric Naming Strategy
The reported ID. Up name could form part of a wider Volkswagen strategy to align electric models with established nameplates.
Under such an approach, existing models such as the ID.3 and ID.7 could eventually adopt names associated with established Volkswagen products, including Golf and Passat.
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Volkswagen is also preparing an electric model associated with the Tiguan name, with camouflaged prototypes reportedly appearing ahead of its expected role in the future lineup.
The latest ID. Up designation was not formally announced by Volkswagen Group. The name was reportedly disclosed inadvertently by trade union IG Metall in a statement concerning plant allocations in Emden.
