Bye bye, buggy: VW’s epic EV heartbreakingly scrapped

One of the coolest EV options has now officially hit the scrapheap, with the epic, off-road VW ID Buggy cancelled after a joint-venture issue between Volkswagen and e.Go Mobile.

The latter is facing bankruptcy, which hasn’t helped the situation, and VW is clearly uninterested in taking the project in-house, with one senior executive confirming that “we won’t do this car”.

That’s the word from VW CEO Ralf Brandstätter, who told UK outlet AutoCar that the EV off-road buggy project had officially been abandoned.

“No, we won’t do this car. We had a partner, but in the end it didn’t work out,” he said.

Cue much eye-wiping, and the ID Buggy was seriously cool. It debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019, it was designed to “show the versatility of the modular electric drive matrix (MEB)”, and – this is a little more cheesy – “put the fun in functional”.

But it truly does look fun. It’s door-free, for one. And you get 18-inch wheel wrapped in chunky AllTerrain rubber. There’s also underbody protection, a reinforced windscreen and Targa-style bars for if – or when – you roll it.

Providing the power is a rear-mounted motor good for 150kW and 310Nm, and while a 62kWh battery provides en estimated 250km/h driving range.

Alas, it’s all hypothetical now, as the Buggy is no more.