:The start of sales for the new all-electric minibus ID.Buzz is imminent: This Friday, VW will start advance sales in Europe and Germany, and the first vehicles are to be delivered to customers in the fall. For Volkswagen, the ID.Buzz is the most important new model of this year. The Wolfsburg car manufacturer hopes to be able to build on earlier sales successes with the minibus, such as the “Bulli” or the “Beetle”.
ID.Buzz: VW names the price and range of the electric car
“The ID.Buzz is the most emotional of our electric cars,” said Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, at the presentation in March. The vehicle is an “outstanding symbol” for the entire transformation of Volkswagen, which is supported by the electrification and digitization of cars. The “Bulli” stood for independence and great emotion in the 1950s. The ID.Buzz is now taking on this attitude to life in a modern form.
The ID.Buzz is built at the Volkswagen Transporter plant in Hanover. VW wants to start series production before the summer. 60,000 to 70,000 copies are expected to be manufactured there annually.
According to the manufacturer, the range of the 77 kWh battery is up to 421 kilometers.
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In Germany, the minibus costs 64,881 euros before deducting the state subsidy. Sales in North America will also start next year. If the vehicle also catches on in the USA, the VW factory in Chattanooga in the US state of Tennessee could become the second production facility for the electric bus.
ID.Buzz is to inherit the Bulli as an electric car
It is almost exactly 72 years since VW assembled the first editions of what would later become flower power cars in Hanover – now the ID.Buzz is intended to continue the legacy of the “Bullis” in the electric world. There is a lot at stake for the company and the brand.
The e-bus is the first contribution from light commercial vehicles (VWN) to the new ID series, and in the medium term it is intended to be a type of series launch for autonomous driving functions. In addition, there are high customer expectations – not only nostalgics from the T1 era should take a close look.
The drive technology based on the MEB electrical construction kit is already known from other ID offshoots. The ID.Buzz receives additional attention because it is also about in-depth networking. At the IAA auto show in September, VW presented an autonomous prototype version.
inner space
The ID.Buzz Pro costs EUR 64,581 before deducting state subsidies.
(Photo: VW press photo)
Tests are underway with the US partner Argo AI before series production is targeted for 2025. Self-driving Bullis are to be used, for example, in robot taxi services. The Moia shuttle service – currently particularly geared towards Hamburg – will also be included in the model in the future. Later, private customers and logisticians will also be able to use the technology.
One main goal: reduce and ideally prevent accidents. VW also cooperates with the US car giant Ford via Argo. Joint models based on the e-platforms are planned.
ID.Buzz important pillar in VW’s electric car business
Group boss Herbert Diess told the German Press Agency: “By 2030 we expect to see fleet companies and also private cars, some of which drive autonomously. It can be a bit earlier, it can be a bit later.” However, a project for the soccer World Cup in Qatar with 35 self-propelled e-shuttles that was launched at the end of this year has been stopped for the time being.
In addition to being an “important pillar in the electric offensive” (Diess), the ID.Buzz is intended to set the pace for autonomous driving. The group also wants to use it to showcase its eco-efforts. “The drivers of this development are not only stricter emission regulations, but also the growing awareness of the environment and sustainability,” it was said in general before the presentation.
Can be used flexibly
The cargo area offers plenty of space when needed.
(Photo: VW press photo)
Apart from the purely battery-electric drive, this is reflected in the use of recycled materials such as plastic bottles. The CO2 balance can be improved by more than 30 percent. VWN also dispenses with animal materials such as leather in the ID.Buzz. Instead, plastics are used for seat covers and interior fittings.
After the EU’s “Green Deal” was passed, the group adjusted its climate targets. By the end of this decade, average CO2 emissions in Europe for the core brand VW passenger cars are to be reduced by 40 percent. The Group as a whole is aiming for a reduction of 30 percent by 2030 – also in relation to the base year 2018. However, environmentalists criticize the fact that Volkswagen does not give any clearly defined dates for phasing out the combustion engine, as some other manufacturers and countries have formulated it.
Delivery van version of the ID.Buzz
Delivery van version of the ID.Buzz
Competition for the classic T-Transporter.
(Photo: VW press photo)
VWN also offers a van version of the ID.Buzz. On the one hand, this could create in-house competition for the classic T-Transporter. On the other hand, the old Bulli as a craft vehicle already played an important role in making the car the bread-and-butter model for the Hanoverians – for many comparable to the Beetle or the Golf of the core brand. The ID.Buzz Cargo costs from 54,430 euros.
The market is competitive, with the French and Japanese in particular getting involved with their box vans in the global boom in parcel and delivery services. Accordingly, VWN probably also wants to lure business customers with an interior that “takes up stylistic elements from the T1 generation and transfers them to today’s era of electromobility”.
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Investments by Europe’s largest car group over the next five years are significant. In the areas of electrification and digitization alone, a sum in the high double-digit billions is flowing across the Group. In Hanover, in addition to the new VWN vehicles, various versions of a luxury SUV with their own software will soon be added – a joint project by Audi, Porsche and Bentley, which is intended to snatch market share from US rival Tesla.
Interior of the Transporter version
Euro pallets can also be placed across the vehicle.
(Photo: VW press photo)
Models like the ID.Buzz are also changing the production and working environment of the employees: The VWN headquarters in Hanover, like Zwickau and Emden as well as parts of the US plant in Chattanooga and factories in China, will be completely converted to the production of electric cars. “It’s a giant leap for our colleagues, but it’s also a boost to rationalization that hasn’t been matched to date,” said production director Josef Baumert in the autumn.
Last but not least, the new automotive world is reflected in the qualification profiles for the workforce. It’s no longer just about assembling hardware – data analysis, software and higher mechatronics are in demand above all.
More: That’s what Volkswagen is planning with the electric Bulli
This article first appeared on 03/09/2022 at 20:24 and was last updated on 05/19/2022.