The Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles units jointly revealed the long-awaited all-electric spiritual successor to the Type 1 (T1) van fondly remembered in various versions and markets as the Microbus, Bus, Transporter, Bulli, and Kombi. The new ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo commercial production versions, patterned after the ID. BUZZ concept car shown in Detroit at the 2017 NAIAS, had their world premiere in Hamburg yesterday.

“In the 1950s, the Volkswagen Bulli stood for a new feeling of automotive freedom, independence, and great emotion,” said Ralf Brandstätter, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Passenger Cars. “The ID. Buzz picks up on this lifestyle and transfers it into our time: emission-free, sustainable, fully networked, and now ready for the next big chapter—autonomous driving. With this car, we are bringing together the core themes of our Accelerate strategy in one product for the first time.”

Under the Accelerate strategy, Volkswagen is aiming to position itself as the most desirable brand for sustainable mobility. Between now and 2026, the brand is investing around €18 billion in the development of electric mobility, hybrid vehicles, and “digitalization.”

As part of the related global EV offensive, VW will increase its proportion of all-electric cars sold in Europe to over 70% and in the U.S. and China to more than 50%. It is bringing out at least one BEV (battery electric vehicle) model every year, the aim being the complete electrification of its model range. By no later than 2050, VW is aiming to have a carbon-neutral footprint.

The company is simultaneously accelerating its development of vehicle software and the digital customer experience as core competencies. It aims to use data-based business models to appeal to new customer groups and open up new sources of revenue. And by 2030, Volkswagen says it will make autonomous driving “available for many people.”

The ID. Buzz vans will reach select European markets in the third quarter of this year. The features and specifications that follow apply to European models; details for the U.S. versions will be available closer to launch.

As with other models of Volkswagen’s all-electric family, the new vans are based on VW Group’s MEB (Modular Electric Drive Kit). Currently, 30% of all EVs in the Group are already based on the MEB, and by 2025 plans call for that number to reach more than 80%.

 

T1-inspired design

The vans are launching in Europe this year in standard-wheelbase form. In 2023, extended wheelbase versions of both models will hit the European market. The U.S. version arrives in 2024, based on the long-wheelbase passenger model.

The standard-wheelbase measures 2988 mm (117.6 in), and both models are 4712 mm (185.5 in) long and 1985 mm (78.1 in) wide excluding mirrors. Height is 1937, 1938 mm for the Cargo, or 76.25 and 76.30 in.

VW says that maximum space utilization, with short body overhangs and compact overall dimensions for the interior space, is the result of a space-efficient electric drive system. The company claims a small turning circle for the vehicle class at just 11.1 m (36.4 ft).

“The T1—an icon of the 1950s—represents freedom and the democratization of mobility,” said Jozef Kabaň, Head of Volkswagen Design. “With the ID. Buzz, we are transferring the T1 DNA to the present day and thus into the era of electric mobility and sustainability.”

Making the design transition are short body overhangs, maximum space utilization on a minimal vehicle footprint, splitting the body design into upper and lower levels, the front end with its V-shaped “hood” between the headlights, and what VW calls “the unique rear section.”

However, “we very consciously ensured that we were not making another T1,” added Kabaň.

VW says that the 2017 ID. BUZZ concept vehicle’s looks were closely followed for the production version, but the overhangs are larger, mirrors have been added, the full-length LED lighting and gray tires are gone, and the simplistic more modern interior has given way to the current ID. thinking.

While its design might echo the past, the new van has decent aerodynamics for reduced energy consumption and increased range. Its drag coefficient is 0.285, 0.29 for the Cargo version.

The ID. Buzz does make extensive use of LEDs. At the front, they are used for the styled headlights, daytime running lights, and the slim horizontal bar between the headlights. Similar to the T1, the VW logo is much larger than other Volkswagens. At the back, the ID. Buzz has horizontally arranged LED taillights, instead of the small circles of the T1 or vertically oriented lights from later versions, and they are now connected to one another by a full-width light strip.

As with its predecessor, the ID. Buzz will have single and two-tone paint finishes for European markets, with a total of eleven color variants—many of them bright. The seven single-color options are Candy White, Mono Silver, Lime Yellow, Starlight Blue, Energetic Orange, Bay Leaf Green, or Deep Black. For two-tone models, the upper section including the roof and V-shaped hood is finished in Candy White, while the areas below the character line are in a choice of Lime Yellow, Starlight Blue, Energetic Orange, or Bay Leaf Green.

Both European ID. Buzz versions will come with 18-in steel wheels as standard, with aluminum wheels available on passenger vehicle models in sizes ranging from 18 to 21 in.

 

Rear-drive MEB power and space

The first European versions of the ID. Buzz will come with a lithium-ion floor-mounted battery pack having 82 kW·h gross (77 kW·h net) energy content from twelve modules. The pack supplies a 150 kW-hp/229 lb·ft (310 N·m) electric motor that drives the rear axle. Top speed is electronically limited to just 145 km/h (90 mph). The driving range will be announced later.

More battery capacities and power outputs are expected to follow in 2023.

The charging power is 11 kW for AC and as much as 170 kW via a CCS plug connector at a DC fast-charging station. The battery can be charged from 5% to 80% in just 30 min with DC fast charging. In the future, a simpler Plug & Charge function will be offered through a software update so that the van can authenticate itself at compatible DC rapid-charging stations via the connector using the ISO 15118 standard.

For Europe, bi-directional vehicle-to-home charging will enable the new vans to feed power into the domestic grid or, in the future, for stabilizing the grid. Power transfer and communication take place via an optional DC bi-directional wall box.

The standard-length ID. Buzz will launch with five seating positions, two in front and three in the second row. Driver and front-seat passenger seats have adjustable armrests—standard on the inside, optional on the outside. In top trims, the seats are electrically adjustable and have both memory and massage functions. Front seats can be adjusted longitudinally by up to 245 mm (9.6 in) and in height by 61.5 mm (2.4 in).

The three-person rear bench seat can be folded down completely or split 40:60 and be moved longitudinally 150 mm (5.9 in).

The rear cargo area is accessed via an upward-opening rear hatch, with volume behind the second-row seats of 1121 L (39.6 ft³). If the second row of seats is folded, cargo capacity increases to about 2205 L (77.9 ft³). Optional is a height-adjustable trunk floor.

Two side sliding doors are fitted as standard.

For the standard-wheelbase model, a six-seat configuration will come later with individual seats arranged in three rows of two. With the extended wheelbase, a seven-seat configuration will be available in a 2/3/2 arrangement.

The Cargo version is fitted with a wide-opening split tailgate and a sliding door on the passenger side, with a second sliding door as an option. It will launch with three seats as standard or an optional individual seat for a front-seat passenger. Behind the seats is a fixed partition between the passenger and cargo space, with an optional window and opening for loading items. The cargo space accommodates 3.9 m³ (137.7 ft³) and room for two “Euro” pallets.

One interesting interior feature is an optional movable and removable center console with multiple compartments, the idea derived from the 2017 concept vehicle. In the two-seat Cargo and five-seat ID. Buzz, the center console is fixed between the driver and front passenger seat. On the six-seater, it can also be placed in the middle of the second seating row.

 

User experience and tech

The ID. Buzz instrument panel has a standard 10-in Digital Cockpit driver display paired with a central infotainment display of 10 in (standard) or 12 in (optional). Both displays are connected to the instrument panel only at the bottom for the look of free-floating tablets.

Beneath the infotainment display is a control bar with buttons and touch sliders. The buttons provide access to menus for the dual-zone HVAC settings, driver assist systems, driving profiles, and parking functions. The sliders can regulate temperature and volume.

The transmission is operated via a steering-column stalk. To the left of the steering wheel are digital controls for light functions and heating/defrost for the windshield and rear window. To the right of the steering wheel are a tray for wireless charging and two USB-C plugs, with up to two others in the center console, another in the front passenger door and each of the two sliding doors, and one by the rearview mirror for a dashcam.

As with other models of Volkswagen’s all-electric vehicle family, the new ID. Buzz comes with the interactive ID. Light between windshield and instrument panel to communicate information with light coloring and positioning. For example, it can advise of obstructions in a lane, or it glows red to signal a need to brake.

The ID. Buzz features standard 10-color ambient lighting. An optional 30-color system has light strips in the instrument panel, four doors, door storage bins, and footwells.

On the safety front, European five-seater models are equipped with standard front assist, lane assist, and dynamic road-sign display. Optional systems include adaptive cruise control, side assist, travel assist, emergency assist, park assist, light assist, and area view.

“The ID. Buzz will also be used for future autonomous mobility concepts such as ride pooling, an e-shuttle service of Group subsidiary MOIA that can be booked via an app,” said Carsten Intra, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand. “The electric Bulli is thus also a part of the future of inner-city transport.”

An interesting connectivity feature is the standard Car2X local warning system, which uses signals from other vehicles and the transport infrastructure to spot hazards in real-time. Available as an option is Travel Assist with swarm data, which facilitates partially automated driving across the entire speed range and, for the first time, assisted lane-changing on the motorway.

A new memory function enables automated parking for a previously saved route.

 

More sustainable materials and production

“Both versions of the ID. Buzz are pioneering in terms of their sustainability; their manufacture and shipping has a carbon-neutral footprint,” said Intra. “We are also using recycled synthetic materials and the interior is completely free of any real leather.”

The steering wheel is covered in polyurethane made to have a similar look and feel to leather. The coverings of seats, flooring, and roof use recycled material. Fabric is made of Seaqual yarn, with fibers consisting of 10% collected ocean plastic and 90% recycled PET bottles.

Both models use organically based vehicle paint and forgo cobalt in their high-voltage batteries. VW is setting up a plant that recycles the high-voltage batteries at the end of their automotive life to prepare them for a second use. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is guaranteeing eight years or 160,000 km (100,000 mi) for the propulsion battery.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ main plant in Hannover is being “transformed” for the production of both models, with some portions of assembly reaching an automation level of up to 90%. In parallel with the transformation of the plant, many job profiles are changing and the workers are being retrained for the new-age hardware and software.

Most of the vans’ electric drive system modules are made in Germany by the Volkswagen Group Components division. The electric motor, axles, and battery pack are produced at components factories in Kassel, Braunschweig, Salzgitter, and Hannover.

The ID. Buzz is the first in VW’s family of EVs to get axles from Volkswagen Group Components, assembled at the Hannover-Barsinghausen site with 200 employees. Long term, Hannover also plans to produce the battery pack currently made in Braunschweig after investing around €100 million.

Start of European ID. Buzz production is planned for the first half of 2022. In select European countries, the market launch is in the third quarter of 2022 following the start of advance sales in May 2022. For North America, the debut of the long-wheelbase model is in 2023, with sales launch in 2024.