This article is written in collaboration with Volkswagen for the world premiere of the ID. Buzz.
Fifty years ago at the Hannover Trade Fair, Volkswagen was already showing a T2 as a first prototype powered by a rear-mounted electric motor. The maximum range of 85 kilometers showed, however, that the battery technology was still far from being suitable for practical use. But even back then in 1972, the dream was born: the dream of an emission-free Bulli. Now, in 2022 it is becoming reality.
An icon reloaded: the ID. Buzz
Now the ID. Buzz has been unveiled to the world! The zero-emission VW Bus debuts in two versions, as a 5-seater and a cargo bus. The new VW Bus is the culmination of seven decades of Bulli knowledge and design. Both ID. Buzz versions draw on the stylistic elements of the legendary T1, the original Bulli. Those elements include extremely short vehicle body overhangs, maximum utilization of space on a minimal footprint, the classic division of the vehicle body design into an upper and lower level, plus the unmistakable face with its V-shape. And just like the original Bulli, the ID. Buzz too has rear-wheel drive.
Despite all the links to the great history of the model line, the avant-garde ID. Buzz01 gives electric motoring a new face. What has been created is a car without rival, because the ID. Buzz is not based on the compromise of a multi-traction platform, but is an electric Bulli from the ground up.
While the vehicle is currently a near-series prototype and not yet offered for sale, Volkswagen expect to begin production in the first half of 2022 and begin public launch in Europe and the USA in autumn.
As we write, a fleet of pre-production ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo Buses are touring Europe and going through final rigorous tests. These are final test runs under everyday conditions between Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Hannover. If you are in any of these places, be sure to keep an eye out!
Down to the details
On the engineering front, the new model line is based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB). Both ID. Buzz versions are launching this year with a high-voltage lithium-ion battery providing gross energy content of 82 kWh (net: 77 kWh). The battery supplies a 150 kW electric motor, which is integrated in the rear axle, which it also drives. The top speed is electronically limited at 145 km/h. Official figures for range are not yet available.
In fact, the new ID. Buzz is a very agile vehicle. For the one part, the electric motor builds up its maximum torque of 310 Nm from a standing start. And for the other, these dynamic components are joined by the vehicle body having a very low center of gravity, as the battery is located well down in the sandwich floor. By virtue of its design, the ID. Buzz has another advantage: the electric Bulli’s turning circle is only just over 11 meters.
ID. Buzz Models
• ID. Buzz1 (five-seater)
•ID. Buzz1 Cargo (van, three seats in the front)
External dimensions
• Width excluding exterior mirrors: 1,985 mm
• Height: 1937 mm (Cargo: 1,938 mm)
• Length: 4,712 mm • Wheelbase: 2,988 mm
• Load sill: 619 mm (five-seater), 623 mm (Cargo)
Interior dimensions
• Luggage compartment volume ID. Buzz: up to 1,121 liters
• Cargo compartment volume ID. Buzz Cargo: over 3.9 m3
Drive system
• Type: all-electric rear-wheel drive
• Max. power: 150 kW
•Max. torque: 310 Nm
•Battery capacity: 82 kWh gross, 77 kWh net
• Charging capacity: in the range of the Volkswagen ID. models with 77 kWh battery
Driving performance and turning circle
• Top speed: 145 km/h, electronically limited
•Driving range: to follow at a later date
• Turning circle: just over 11 meters
Plug & Charge
Clever charging solutions: using the latest ID. software, the model line will in the future offer the ‘Plug & Charge’ function as well. Using this function, the ID. Buzz authenticates itself at many providers’ (DC) quick-charging stations via the charging connector, exchanging all necessary data with it in this way – a much more convenient arrangement. And there is going to be another new feature: bidirectional charging. This technology opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities. One example: It will from now on be possible to store excess power from a home’s own solar panels in the ID. Buzz and to feed it back into the home in the evening in order to be independent even without the sun.
The Buslifers team was invited to a pre-premiere shoot at the Volkswagen showroom in Hamburg, Germany. We were able to get some exclusive content of the new ID. Buzz which you can now see on our Instagram. In this article, you can also see the photos we took during the event. What are your thoughts on the ID. Buzz? Let us know in the comments!
Learn more about the ID. Buzz here.
[…] plans to launch their first all-electric vehicle, the ID Buzz which you can read more about here. The thing is, us VW Bus enthusiasts are rather attached to our motors. How do we possibly trade it […]