The long-awaited arrival of the 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz within the U.S. is edging nearer with the latest sighting of a prototype for the long-wheelbase model sure for these shores later this 12 months.
The electrical van, which many are calling the non secular successor to VW’s iconic Microbus, has been on sale in Europe since final fall, although the one model obtainable is the standard-wheelbase mannequin that measures simply 185.5 inches in size, or about 1.5 inches shorter than Tesla’s Mannequin Y compact crossover.
The U.S. will get as customary this long-wheelbase model, which is anticipated to have an additional 10 inches between the wheels. That is evidenced by the prototype’s sliding rear door, which is clearly longer than on the standard-wheelbase mannequin.
Whereas the standard-wheelbase mannequin solely has two rows of seats, the long-wheelbase model will accommodate a three-row, seven-seat configuration. The long-wheelbase model can also be anticipated to spawn a industrial van possibility in some markets, providing greater than 137 cubic toes of hauling house with a set partition behind the entrance seats. The setup was previewed by 2018’s ID.Buzz Cargo idea. Additionally within the works is a California camper model.
Volkswagen ID.Buzz (Euro spec)
Volkswagen ID.Buzz (Euro spec)
Volkswagen ID.Buzz (Euro spec)
Underpinning the ID.Buzz is the versatile MEB devoted EV platform already present in a number of Volkswagen Group autos, together with VW’s ID.4 already in U.S. showrooms. Whereas the largest battery at current is an 82-kwh unit, the long-wheelbase physique being examined right here will accommodate a battery with a 111-kwh capability. Such a capability ought to allow a spread approaching 300 miles on a cost.
Manufacturing of the ID.Buzz is dealt with completely at VW’s plant in Hannover, Germany. This is similar plant the place VW builds its T-series line of vans offered abroad. The T-series is definitely the direct successor to the unique Microbus and entered its seventh-generation in 2021. There have been stories that VW is contemplating including ID.Buzz manufacturing within the U.S. The automaker already builds the ID.4 at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.