Volkswagen employees and management celebrated the production of the first mass-produced fully electric ID. Buzz people mover at its main plant in Hanover, Germany.
Introduced as a spiritual successor to the original Kombi, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz tops VW Australia’s wish list.
The identity. Buzz is built in the same factory as the T6.1 generation Volkswagen Transporter and its derivatives, including the Multivan, Caravelle and California.
German orders have recently been opened for ID. Buzz, which is priced at € 54,270 (A $ 80,850) in the basic Pro version or € 64,581 (A $ 96,211) including VAT.
These prices are before the German government subsidy for electric vehicles (EVs) of € 6,000 (A $ 8,938).
The identity. The Buzz Cargo Commercial Van is of course cheaper: € 45,740 (A $ 68,142) excluding VAT or € 54,430 (A $ 81,088) including tax.
For the context, the base ID. The German market price of the Buzz People Mover places it around € 3000 below the base Mercedes-Benz EQV.
VAT included but excluding VE grant, the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo costs € 20,000 more respectively than a basic Multivan or Transporter.
The identity. The Buzz People Mover base price places it above a basic Porsche Macan (€ 64,464 including VAT) or a 718 Cayman (€ 58,138), but below a basic Touareg (€ 66,890). €).
The Australian-based Volkswagen Touareg, the 170TDI, is currently priced at $ 87,990 before road tolls and a base Porsche Macan is $ 84,800 before road tolls.
The MEB-based ID. Buzz and Cargo use an 82 kWh battery and a 150 kW / 310 Nm rear electric motor, with a claimed range of up to 423 km (WLTP) and DC fast charging speeds of up to 170 kW.
Despite the request, we will wait until the end of 2024 as soon as possible to see the ID. Buzz and his ID card. Counterpart to the Buzz Cargo van in Australia.
“We are constantly talking not only with the local government, but also with fleet customers about what our future will look like for electric vehicles because it is in high demand, they want to move that way sooner. [rather] that’s after, ”Ryan Davies, brand manager of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia, told CarExpert last week.
“ID. The cargo is firmly on our radar as well as ID. [but] probably the first we can expect to sell is the end of 2024.
“We have big volume aspirations for this car, so we are confident we will get it. With what we have put on the table, with what we can get here in terms of volume, we think the factory would be quite satisfied with that appetite.
Overall, Volkswagen has focused on selling its ID. EV range (ID. 3 hatchback; the ID.4, ID.5 and ID.6 crossovers; and now the ID. Buzz and Cargo range) first in Europe, China and North America, where demand and incentives are greatest.
In a story similar to ID. Buzz, in Australia, will not receive the ID.4 and ID.5 crossovers no earlier than the end of 2023, although they are already on sale in other markets.
In the coming years, the space for electric vans in Australia will increase significantly, with the introduction of the second generation Renault Kangoo EV, Ford E-Transit and E-Transit Custom, and Mercedes-Benz eVito, EQV and eSprinter.
OTHER: Volkswagen ID. Buzz and Cargo EV vans are in high demand in AustraliaPLUS: Volkswagen ID. Buzz: Retro EV is coming to Europe with premium pricing