VW ID.Buzz (2022): price, hp, range

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. In Germany, the minibus should cost less than 50,000 euros in its basic version after 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.

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 kind 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.

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. Group CEO Herbert Diess told the German Press Agency: “By 2030 we expect to see fleet companies and also private cars that drive autonomously at times. 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.

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

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 already played an important role as a craftsman’s vehicle 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 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”.

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.

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