“It will significantly contribute to enhancing the appeal of the Volkswagen brand, reloading it with emotions and love, particularly in the US,” VW chairman Herbert Diess said in a presentation.
The VW ID Buzz was designed with US consumers in mind because of the fond memories Americans have of the original VW Type 2, better known as the Microbus, Diess said. That flat-fronted bus with a four cylinder air-cooled engine in the back was a favorite among campers, big families and, famously, counterculture road-trippers.
VW Group is shifting toward electric vehicles, which the company expects to make up half its sales globally by 2030. The company sees this as an opportunity to gain further footing in places like the US, where some competitors aren’t shifting to electric vehicles as fast, Diess said.
Besides being all-electric, VW also expects the ID Buzz to be at the forefront of the company’s autonomous driving plans. The ID Buzz will be used in a self-driving taxi service that VW plans to begin testing in Hamburg, Germany, in 2026. The bus will also be available in cargo-carrying versions.
