VW’s CEO Thomas Schäfer has started a bonfire of the brands, with the ID and GTX brands set for the chop. He also said that the SEAT name would be reserved for ‘mobility solutions’ rather than mainstream cars.

The most surprising revelation was that the ID name is likely to be killed off and its replacements will be named Golf and Tiguan. Schäfer said: “Definitely the names we will carry in the future are Golf, Tiguan and GTI – that is given. The others we will look at on a case-by-case basis.

“There will be new Golf and it will be a true Golf…. ID.3 will run out by then and there will be minimal overlap. ID.3 was a name which was necessary to differentiate it from the ICE models. But we probably don’t need that going into the future.”

The ID.2 concept won’t become a Polo however. Schäfer said: “The ID.2 is bigger than a Polo, it’s more than a Polo. We taught our customers that the Polo is a car which costs between €15-25,000 and the ID.2 will start at €25,000.”

The ID.2 won't be badged as a Polo, and GTI will be used for fast two-wheel-drive models

The SEAT brand is also being allowed to wither. “The future of SEAT is Cupra,” said Schäfer. “We are investing strongly in Cupra… and earning possibilities are far stronger. SEAT will still exist but we will find a different role for it.” This is thought to include ‘mobility solutions’ such as electric scooters and possibly some smaller cars.

The final name for the chop is GTX, which Volkswagen had previously suggested was the ‘GTI for the electric era’ and has been used on the ID.4, ID.5 and ID. Buzz. Schäfer said: “GTI is two wheel drive. The R is the four-wheel-drive. GTX was just an interim for the battery electric cars but we will merge it in the long run. For us it has to be the traditional ones – GTI and R. We have taught the world what these names mean and it would be ludicrous to have to re-educate them.”

The first R models will arrive when VW launches it’s all new electric car platform, which is due in 2028.

The SEAT brand will live on, being used on scooters