O year of 2025 proved a real test of resilience for the Volkswagen Group, with net profit dropping by almost half to €6.9 billion - one of the lowest figures of the past decade.
As the saying goes, the best defence is attack. At the Volkswagen Group, that “attack” will come via the launch of a great many models. In total, 20 new arrivals are confirmed by the end of 2026, with the clear task of turning performance around and attracting new customers.
That is because many of these launches will be entirely new propositions for their respective brands, while others will be fresh generations of familiar models, and others still will be updates/facelifts of cars already on sale. There is a bit of everything, reflecting the scale of the German group: from a new generation of compact electric cars to luxury SUVs, without forgetting high performance.
Some of these new models have already been shown in part or in full, and it will not be long until we meet the rest. In the following lines, discover what to expect from the German giant through to the end of this year.
Volkswagen
It is a pivotal year for the Group’s best-selling brand: Volkswagen. The most eagerly awaited new model is due to be unveiled and launched very soon - the ID. Polo. It represents another move towards affordable electric mobility and will become the entry step into Volkswagen’s electric range. Prices are expected to start at around €25,000.
The name is familiar, but the ID. Polo has little to do with the combustion-engined Polo we have known for decades - except for the ambition to become a benchmark in its class. The final reveal will take place during the spring, but we have already driven it. Here are our first impressions.
Later this year, the ID. Polo will be joined by the ID. Cross, its SUV counterpart - which we have also already had the chance to see up close. They will share the same technical foundations and most specifications: from the motors - 85 kW (116 cv), 99 kW (135 cv), 155 kW (211 cv) - to the batteries (37 kWh and 52 kWh). It will cost more, but even so, pricing should begin below €30,000.
Moving up one level within the ID electric family, substantial updates are on the way for the ID.3 and ID.4. The first to appear will be the ID.3, which adds Neo to its name in April. The ID.4 is preparing for an extensive refresh and is expected to be renamed the ID. Tiguan.
Away from EVs, this is set to be the year of the second-generation Volkswagen T-Roc. Sales have already begun, and it carries the weighty responsibility of following a predecessor that has been Volkswagen’s best-selling model in Europe in recent years. Its importance, therefore, should not be underestimated. This year, we may see the unveiling of a previously unseen hybrid version that does not need plugging in.
As before, the second-generation T-Roc continues to be built at the Autoeuropa plant in Palmela, Setúbal, and is available from €33,445 - for now only with mild-hybrid powertrains.
Skoda
Still riding the wave of more affordable EVs, the Skoda Epiq will be launched in the coming months. This B-SUV plays a central role in the Czech brand’s electric strategy - leaning on the success of the Elroq, currently Europe’s best-selling electric car - with prices around €25,000.
At the other end of the market, the Skoda Peaq is aimed much higher: it will be the brand’s largest electric SUV, with seating for up to seven occupants. Its arrival is expected towards the end of the year, although its global reveal is scheduled for the summer.
Audi
Audi, in turn, has an especially packed year ahead. A new generation of the Q7 is coming, alongside an all-new Q9 - both with mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. The latter is expected to position itself as the new flagship for the four-ring brand, particularly after the A8 recently disappeared from the brand’s configurators, with no successor in sight. The Audi Q4 e-tron will also receive an update this year.
The German marque also has a new entry-level electric model planned: the A2 e-tron, due to be revealed at the end of 2026 and launched in 2027.
It revives, for the electric era, the name of a model long associated with technological innovation and frugality - comparisons will be inevitable.
Last, but certainly not least, the RS models are set for a major year too. The RS 5 has already been unveiled and is the first plug-in hybrid RS in history, yet the twin-turbo V6 has not gone anywhere and remains part of the package. Get to know it in detail:
The same philosophy will be applied to the RS 6 Avant, which will not give up its twin-turbo V8 and is taking aim at the huge and mighty BMW M5 Touring.
SEAT and CUPRA
Bringing the Volkswagen Group’s compact-EV push to a close is the CUPRA Raval, which shares its technical platform with the ID. Polo. It will be the Spanish brand’s cheapest electric car, with prices from €26,000. The reveal is still a few months away.
Like its “cousin” the ID. Polo, we have already been able to see it more closely and drive it. Here are our first impressions:
SEAT has been somewhat “asleep”, but returns with updates to the Arona and Ibiza. They are already on sale in Portugal, priced from €22,398 and €19,339 respectively. The biggest change, however, only arrives in 2027, when both will adopt 48 V mild-hybrid powertrains for the first time.
Porsche
Porsche is going through a difficult period - in 2025, several figures slipped into the red - and a plan to change course is already underway. Although that shift involves taking a step back from its electric ambitions, 2026 will be defined by the launch of two new electric models.
The first is the Cayenne Electric, revealed last year and already available to order, with deliveries set to begin in the second half of the year. It is the first fully electric Cayenne and will also become Porsche’s most powerful production model ever: outputs range from 325 kW (442 cv) to 850 kW (1156 cv) for the Cayenne Turbo Electric.
The second is the electric Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman. After rumours suggesting the sports cars might be cancelled, they now appear on the German group’s list of new models for 2026. The confirmation was recently reinforced by comments from Porsche Australia CEO Daniel Schmollinger.
Bentley and Lamborghini
Staying with EVs, Bentley will unveil its first-ever electric car this year, currently known only as the Urban SUV. Do not be misled by the name: it is expected to be as large as the Cayenne Electric, sharing its technical underpinnings. The reveal is this year, but the launch is not expected before 2027. Everything we already know:
Rounding off this list of Volkswagen Group nouveautés for 2026 is the Lamborghini Urus SE Performante, due around mid-year. As the name suggests, it will be the highest-performance version of the Italian super-SUV. The current Urus already delivers 800 cv of total combined output… just how far will the Performante go?
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