--- title: "VW Realizes People Want the GTI Name, not ‘GTX’ on Electric Cars" description: "Volkswagen is reversing course on a plan to change the iconic GTI name to \"GTX\" on its electric cars, probably because GTX is meaningless." date: "2024-05-11" modified: "2024-05-11" authors: - name: "Beverly Braga" job_title: "Weekend Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/beverly-braga" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/vw-realizes-people-want-the-gti-name-not-gtx-on-electric-cars" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Electric Vehicles" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Volkswagen News" tags: - "Electric Vehicle" - "Volkswagen" --- # VW Realizes People Want the GTI Name, not ‘GTX’ on Electric Cars ![]() *\Volkswagen\* Well, that didn't last long. I hope you weren't attached to the idea of Volkswagen changing the iconic GTI name to GTX for its electric cars. But really: you weren't. [And just like Mercedes moving away]() from calling all its EVs "EQ-something," VW has realized that changing decades-old naming conventions isn't the best way to get people accustomed to an electrified lineup. In an interview with [*Autocar*](), Volkswagen COO Thomas Schäfer confirmed that the GTX name would be dropped from future EV models as the brand expands its electrified lineup to include GTI and R vehicles. "GTX is the performance brand of the MEB \[platform\], but we'll work our way back to GTI and R in the next products going forward," Schäfer told the outlet. Announced in 2019, GTX is (was?) [a new sub-brand meant to differentiate the electric ID models](). The "X" in GTX was a distinction that the vehicle had a dual-motor and all-wheel drive (i.e., performance-oriented). But intent and execution are two different things. And with the introduction of the single-motor ID.3 GTX, the meaning of X went out the window. ![]() ![]() ![]() Dropping a performance spec before it has time to gain traction sounds easy enough, especially with the GTI and R nomenclature ready in waiting. Aber ich spreche hier Deustch. Of course, it's going to get a little complicated. Schäfer acknowledges the importance of maintaining the performance legacy of GTI and R, but also admits it's not as black and white as he'd like. "The question is: how do we position GTI?," he said. "GTI is traditionally performance and front-wheel drive." Such was the case with the [ID.GTI concept](). But the modular MEB platform currently used for the ID series has a rear-wheel bias. GTI-X or GTIx perhaps? At least the road for the R brand is more clearcut as it's been the VW definitive of "four-wheel drive performance" for the past 20 years. And although the automaker has yet unveil an electrified R model, concept or otherwise, the hi-po sub-brand will supposedly be [EV-only by 2030](). There is no timetable for when GTX will officially disappear, nor will currently badged models be renamed. So, for now, GTX lives on. Its most recent iteration is the ID [Buzz GTX](), which was unveiled in March. Not that Americans should get attached to the idea of a sports van either because [VW isn't bringing it to the U.S. market](). I guess we can't lose what we never had. ## Author Born and raised in Hawaii, Beverly has been a prolific and published creative writer since her teens. As a contributor to The Drive, Beverly covers the weekend shift, blogging about all things automotive, mobility, transportation, and topics in-between. Currently a digital nomad, Beverly's only constant is her car, a second-generation Mazdaspeed3. Even though she's never in one place for too long, her hot hatch always feels like home. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()