Volkswagen reboots its groovy 60s-era VW Bus. This time it's faster, roomier and electric
CTV
America apparently needs more car seats. So, when Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Buzz, a retro-styled electric van, last year, it noted that the version for the North American market would be longer and would have three rows of seats.
America apparently needs more car seats. So, when Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Buzz, a retro-styled electric van, last year, it noted that the version for the North American market would be longer and would have three rows of seats.
North America’s version of the ID. Buzz has now officially been revealed. “Designed and tailor-made for the North American consumer,” in the words of Volkswagen of America chief executive Paolo Di Si, this version is near 10 inches longer than the two-row model. It’s still not huge, though. At 194.4 inches, front to back, it’s about 10 inches shorter than a Chrysler Pacifica minivan, but can still seat up to seven.
The two-row version and a commercial van version available in Europe will not be sold here, Di Si confirmed.
The ID. Buzz is designed to recall the Volkswagen T1, or Transporter. That iconic model was introduced in 1949 and is better known as the Microbus, or just the VW Bus. In America, it became associated with the Hippie movement, but the Bus also provided transportation for large families long before the front-wheel-drive minivan was invented by Chrysler in the 1980s.
The ID. Buzz is expected to be available in this market in late 2024. Like the original Bus, the base version of the ID. Buzz will be rear-wheel-drive, with power coming from a motor mounted in the back. This time it’s a quiet electric motor rather than a noisy gasoline engine.
It’s also far more powerful, and faster.
The electric motor is capable of producing 282 horsepower, more than 10 times the horsepower of an early VW Bus. The new ID. Buzz will also be available with all-wheel-drive, with a total of up to 330 horsepower coming from two electric motors, one at the front and one at the back.
