The story of the Volkswagen Group’s push into the affordable EV segment can be told through its big reveals at the Munich motor show.

In 2021, the first time Germany’s biennial motor show was held in Bavaria, VW signalled its intent to enter the affordable EV segment with the boldly styled ID Life concept. It sat on the new MEB Entry platform, a front-driven electric architecture that would allow for vehicles costing around €25,000 (£22,000) from Volkswagen and sibling brands Cupra and Skoda.

The reaction wasn’t exactly positive: the car was a stylistic departure from both the ID models that had gone before it and VW’s long-running combustion-engined classics. The distinctly underwhelming reception contributed to a major Volkswagen management shake-up, which involved Thomas Schäfer being brought in as CEO and Andreas Mindt joining as design chief.

Straight away the pair started leaning into Volkswagen’s heritage. Schäfer has talked repeatedly about making Volkswagen a ‘love brand’ again, while Mindt will enthuse all day about the ‘secret sauce’ that all his designs must have.

But there were changes behind the scenes, too. The VW Group reorganised, with the new Core division – Volkswagen, Cupra, Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles – working in a far more collaborative fashion on the new ID Entry project.

Schafer’s decision to embrace VW’s heritage led to the ID 2all concept, Mindt’s hastily designed vision of how future small Volkswagen EVs can be true to the heritage of the brand. The ID 2 all actually sat on the reworked platform of the ID Life, but it garnered a wholly more postive reception. It looked and felt like a Volkswagen, which, after the likes of the anonymous ID 3, was a huge step in the right direction.

That was ramped up at Munich two years ago, when Volkswagen showed the ID GTI concept, a car that took the 2all and ramped up the heritage aspects even further. The warm reception proved that Volkswagen is best when it plays to its strengths.

At Munich this year, that four-year quest to launch the £22,000 EV neared fruition with the unveiling (albeit hidden under camouflage) of near-production versions of the now-renamed ID Polo and ID Polo GTI, along with the closely related Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq. And there was a concept version of the ID Cross that will follow those machines into production next year.

Again, delve into the specifics of the platform, powertrains and battery technology that will underpin those models and much remains from that 2021 ID Life concept.

The difference is that Volkswagen has realised its best chance of success in the new electric era, of fending off the vast ranks of aggressive Chinese rivals, comes from taking new technology and infusing it with the warmth and familiarity of proven Volkswagen design and model names.

It’s not an entirely new approach – Renault has found success with the 5 and 4 through a similar mix of new EV tech and retro design – but, for a brand with Volkswagen’s rich heritage, it’s a smart one. And while the path from the ID Life to the ID Polo hasn’t exactly been smooth, it’s a journey that should provide some important lessons for the future.