VW builds electric T-Roc in Wolfsburg

There has been frequent speculation about an SUV counterpart to the current ID.3 with the potential model designation ID.3 X. It would be the electric counterpart to the T-Roc, which is the combustion-powered SUV in the Golf segment. In some cases, the T-Roc even outperformed the Golf in terms of sales – last year, however, the compact car from Wolfsburg was once again ahead of the SUV in the European rankings.

Following the wage agreement before Christmas and the plant reallocations (like moving the ID.3 and Cupra Born from Zwickau to Wolfsburg and the combustion-powered Golf from Wolfsburg to Puebla/Mexico), it had become clear that there would be no ID.3 X based on the current MEB generation, but VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer announced at the works meeting on Wednesday that a compact electric SUV similar to the T-Roc is planned for Wolfsburg. Until now, all that was known was that the future ‘ID.Golf’ would be built based on the SSP at VW’s main plant.

“By relocating Golf production to Mexico, we are creating space for modern technologies. New production processes will be introduced in Hall 54. Our goal is to build the next-generation electric Golf on the new SSP platform there, along with the high-volume electric T-Roc,” Schäfer told the workforce. “This will establish Wolfsburg as the capital of our new all-electric compact class”

Electric T-Roc from 2029?

VW has not yet given any specific dates. So far, the electric Golf successor is expected in 2028 – the electric T-Roc could follow a year later. The German carmaker is also holding back with key data on the drive technology – the underlying SSP electric platform is still under development, so the data may change. The delays in the introduction of the Premium Platform Electric have apparently made the strategists in the Group much more cautious with overly grandiose announcements.

Daniela Cavallo, head of the VW Works Council, described the development of the SSP as a decisive lever. “The future electric flagships – the Golf and the T-Roc produced in Wolfsburg – currently represent a volume in excess of 500,000 units per year. The main plant has therefore secured a highly attractive vehicle segment and will be continuing the tradition of the Golf from Wolfsburg, which has a history of more than 50 years,” Cavallo said. “It will now be crucial to work consistently on the preparations required for success in the years to come. Volkswagen must set the course in terms of complexity, work procedures and synergy effects.”

At the works meeting, the brand also gave employees an initial preview of the “future entry-level electric model,” usually referred to in public as the ID.1. The concept car should be unveiled at the beginning of March, with the series version to be presented in 2027. There could be a good reason why Schäfer only talks about the “brand’s future entry-level electric model” – but VW does not mention this in the press release.

As reported by the Braunschweiger Zeitung, the carmaker also announced that it would abandon the current naming of the ID. models with the code numbers – the electric models will be given “real names” again. However, this does not necessarily mean that the abbreviation ‘ID.’ is history. A combination like the often-cited ID.Golf seems possible, it just won’t be a new ID.3. There is also speculation that the production version of the ID.2all study, which was supposed to launch as the ID.2, could be called the ID.Polo.

According to this new logic, the €20,000 electric car would thus not launch as the ID.1. However, it is not yet known whether it will then become an ID.Up – perhaps there will be hints at the launch in early March.

volkswagen-newsroom.com, braunschweiger-zeitung.de (paywall; in German)