The spiritual heir of the classic Volkswagen bus could be here in just a few months.
Car and Driver reports that “The U.S. version of the VW ID.Buzz electric van will debut in June.” It will likely go on sale the following year.
A Callback to a VW Classic
The classic wore the official name Volkswagen Type 2 and the unofficial names bus, microbus, love bus, and more. It was launched in Germany in 1949 but built all over the world. Baby Boomers made it a symbol of the counterculture movement, decorating VW buses with surfboards, curtains, peace signs, and all manner of bric-a-brac.
The love lasted decades. The last factory building the Type 2, in Brazil, stopped production in December 2013.
The ID.Buzz borrows its design ethos from the famous Type 2. But this time, it’s electric. It rides on the same platform as the ID.4 electric SUV.
Likely Three Rows, Two Powertrain Options
European dealers get a short-wheelbase, 2-row edition. U.S. dealers will reportedly get a 3-row version instead.
Volkswagen “also told us that the bigger U.S.-bound Buzz will have a larger battery pack than the 77.0-kWh pack available elsewhere,” Car and Driver says. The magazine reports that the entry-level model will use an electric motor producing 201 horsepower, mounted to the rear axle for a rear-wheel-drive layout. An optional dual-motor all-wheel-drive (AWD) upgrade “should offer the same 295 horsepower” as AWD versions of the ID.4.
But Probably No Open-Bed Version
Incidentally, former VW design boss Klaus Zyciora teased a pickup truck version of the ID.Buzz last year. Zyciora has since left the company, so we have little hope that the love truck will ever be real.
