Volkswagen ID.Buzz revealed; electric Kombi comes to life
Volkswagen has unveiled the production versions of its ID.Buzz, in both microbus and commercial vehicle forms, bringing the DNA of the legendary Kombi into the 21st century. Deliveries to customers in Europe begin around September, the company says.
Deliberately designed to echo VW’s original T1 van of 1950 – a vehicle better known as the Kombi – the ID.Buzz is built on the same MEB electric platform as the ID.3 hatch and Volkswagen ID.4 crossover SUV already on sale in Europe.
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The ID.Buzz is the first long-wheelbase MEB-based model. There’s 22cm more distance between its front and rear axles than any ID model launched so far. It has short overhangs front and rear, so its overall length is a fairly compact 4.7 metres.
At the online global reveal in Hamburg, Volkswagen revealed the ID.Buzz as a people-mover with a five-seat interior and as a van that will be called ID.Buzz Cargo. Four two-tone colour schemes will be offered, as well as seven solid hues.
The Cargo will have the options of two or three seats up front. Its cargo area can hold almost four cubic metres (4000 litres), and customers will have a variety of door layouts to choose from. Rear windows will be optional, too.
Whether or not there’s room for a third row of seats in the microbus to increase capacity to seven or eight passengers Volkswagen execs didn’t say. There are still other unknowns…
Initially the VW ID.Buzz will be produced with the same 77kWh battery pack and 150kW rear-mounted motor as the top ID.3 model. This means it’ll be fairly costly. Presumably it’ll be possible to install the same smaller battery packs and less powerful motors that go into the ID.3 and ID.4 to create more affordable versions in the future.
While VW didn’t make any claims about the wide and tall VW.Buzz’s driving range, they did say its excellent aerodynamics – 0.29 co-efficient of drag – will reduce energy consumption and range.
The ID.Buzz’s 170kW DC fast charging capability is higher than the company’s other EVs. VW claims a five to 80 percent recharge will take about 30 minutes. The vehicle’s onboard AC charger is rated at 11kW.
The ID.Buzz will be capable of bi-directional charging. It’ll be possible to use it to supply electricity to a house, if the dwelling is equipped with a special bi-directional wallbox.
VW boasts that the ID.Buzz has a sustainable and eco-conscious interior. It’s the first leather-free VW, they say. And recycled materials are widely used. The headlining, for example, is made from recycled PET bottles.
Hi Toby. . Oh to buy an EV where I may sit in the SHADE!!, Like I do in my (relatively) flat windscreened Rukus. You ,Toby are an advocate with some profile for wannabe EV buyers. Toby, as you and I know, AUSSIES LIKE SHADE. Sell a car which offers a shad covered driving position and that EB producer would make a forty if only this sun safety feature was realised . Ancap safety should factor in a covered driving position.