New Volkswagen ID 2 baby SUV confirmed for 2026

Volkswagen 'ID 2 X' will be a raised, rugged version of its supermini sibling

Higher-riding, rugged version of ID 2 supermini will replace Volkswagen T-Cross and be built in Wolfsburg

Volkswagen has confirmed that it will launch a 'high-volume' A-segment SUV in 2026, likely serving as a raised, rugged take on the upcoming Volkswagen ID 2.

To be built in Wolfsburg, Germany, alongside the larger Volkswagen ID 3, the 'ID 2 X' as it is expected to be called will be based on the same MEB Entry platform as its supermini sibling, the Cupra Raval and an unnamed equivalent model from Skoda. 

Those three cars have been confirmed for production on a new assembly line run by Seat in Martorell, Spain, and it is not yet clear if Volkswagen will build its own baby SUV there, as well as in Germany. Autocar has approached the company for clarification. 

Confirmation of the ID 2 X's launch date comes as the company reveals details about the shape of its factory network through to 2028, following a meeting of the board of management earlier today. The company is in the process of allocating various upcoming models to each of its global production hubs, with a focus on maximising efficiency by grouping platform-sharing models together.

Volkswagen's production boss, Christian Vollmer, said: "We are using the transition to electromobility as an opportunity to reduce the complexity of our production operations and increase the efficiency of our plants even further. We are systematically bundling vehicles based on the same architecture across all brands in our plants. 

"By doing so, we will save significant investments in the integration of different vehicle architectures. Rather, we want our plants to produce several different models on the technical basis of one vehicle architecture.”

As well as the ID 3 and ID 2 X, Wolfsburg will continue to build the Volkswagen Golf hatchback – to be heavily updated in early 2024 – and the latest version of the Volkswagen Tiguan, revealed earlier this month. The seven-seat Volkswagen Tayron SUV – a replacement for the Tiguan Allspace – will be built in Wolfsburg from 2025.

The ID 2 X will serve as a replacement for the current Volkswagen T-Cross, which is scheduled to bow out in around 2025, much as the ID 2 will replace the Volkswagen Polo. 

It will measure around 4050mm long and have a circa-2600mm wheelbase, making it a close match for its combustion-engined predecessor, although a flat EV floorpan and the lack of an engine will mean it has interior space more in line with that of today's Golf.

Like the ID 2 and its Cupra and Skoda siblings, it will be natively front-driven and offered with the choice of 38kWh or 56kWh batteries, enabling a maximum range of around 260 miles - given the lighter, lower-slung ID 2 claims a 280-mile figure.

Volkswagen says the larger of these batteries can be charged from 10-80% in around 20 minutes, with a maximum speed of 125kW. 

The concept version of the ID 2 was shown with a 223bhp single motor on the front axle, giving a sub-7.0sec 0-62mph time, but Volkswagen has yet to confirm details of any other powertrain options. It is unlikely the ID 2 X will be offered in hot 'GTI' format, as has been confirmed for the ID 2, given its more practical, family-focused billing. 

The ID 2 is set to hit the market at an ambitious £22,000 when it arrives in 2026, but when its raised sibling enters production later that year, it can be expected to command a premium of around £3000, in reflection of the gap between the Polo and T-Cross. 

In today's announcement, Volkswagen has also confirmed that "as things stand today", it will not build a dedicated new factory for its long-awaited Trinity flagship. Instead, it will build this new highly autonomous EV at Zwickau, Germany, where it currently builds the ID 3 and ID 5. 

Autocar reported last year that delays to the Trinity programme had prompted internal discussions about the viability of a dedicated factory for the model, given that the forecasted easing of demand for combustion cars could free up space for a new model within the existing network.