Enlarge / Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz will have the electric minivan market to itself when it arrives in 2024. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, particularly when you’re selling things. That’s why automakers regularly dip into their back catalogs to dust off a beloved nameplate or silhouette and marry it to modern underpinnings.
And you can’t get much more modern than a battery-electric powertrain, as in the case of Volkswagen’s new ID. Buzz. (Yes, the particular name has a period in it. ) The company that gave us the new Beetle based on the much-loved old Beetle has now drawn inspiration from its iconic T1 Microbus. Although we saw the initial IDENTIFICATION. Buzz concept back in 2017, typically the vehicle is back as a production model. It goes on sale in Europe next year and in the US within 2024.
If you don’t want a two-tone paint job for the ID. Buzz, that’s possible. But we think this two-tone will be more popular. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
Depending how you look at it, often the ID. Buzz has been two decades in the making. Back in 2001, Volkswagen designed a new Microbus, which looked cool but never progressed past the concept stage. Ten years later, VW tried again with Bulli . Although Bulli looked less gainly than the Microbus, it was perhaps a more realistic representation of a production van, with a bulging nose in order to accommodate an engine bay and front impact protection.
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