(February 21, 2022) HANOVER, Germany — The world premiere of the ID. BUZZ concept car at the Detroit International Auto Show in January 2017 triggered a sensational response around the globe. The positive feedback made only one decision possible: the concept car had to go into production. Five intensive years of development work followed. Now the time has come: the ID. Buzz is ready for primetime. Volkswagen is activating the countdown for a double world premiere: on March 9, the all-electric ‘Bus will be unveiled as the ID. Buzz (5-seater) and Buzz Cargo (van).

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is currently going through the final phase of ID. Buzz prototype testing. Right now, the pre-production fleet is touring Europe. These are final test runs under everyday conditions between Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Hannover.

Kai Grünitz, head of Vehicle Development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, says: “Before we start full production of the ID. Buzz, these final trials with vehicles that are virtually identical to the ultimate full-production specification provide us with indispensable input for the final vehicles.”


The ID. Buzz prototypes are now running around in only slightly disguised form. It is becoming obvious that the designers have rigorously transferred the styling of the 2017 concept car to the 2022 full-production version. Both ID. Buzz versions also draw on the design elements of the legendary T1, the original ‘Bus. Those elements include extremely short body overhangs, maximum utilization of space on a minimal footprint, the classic division of the vehicle body design into an upper and lower level, and the unmistakable V-shaped face. And just like the original ‘Bus, the ID. Buzz also has rear-wheel drive.

Despite all the links to the model line’s great history, the avant-garde ID. Buzz gives electric motoring a new face. What has been created is a unique vehicle, because the ID. Buzz is electric from the ground up. Both versions of the ID. Buzz indicate that their owners having taken an intelligent decision on mobility, by which both private and business users are able to help address climate change by driving a zero-tailpipe-emission vehicle.


The new model line is based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB). Both ID. Buzz versions are launching this year in Europe with a high-voltage lithium-ion battery providing gross energy content of 82 kWh (77kWh net). The battery supplies a 150 kW (201 horsepower) electric motor that is integrated in and drives the rear axle. The top speed is electronically limited at 90 mph. Official figures for range are not yet available.

The new ID. Buzz is a very agile vehicle. For a start, the electric motor builds up its maximum torque of 229 pound feet from a standing start. Moreover, the vehicle has a very low center of gravity, as the battery is located in the floor of the vehicle, helping ride and handling performance. By virtue of its design, the ID. Buzz has another advantage: the electric Bus’s turning circle is only just over 35 feet.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has developed a versatile structure based on the MEB architecture that facilitates a wide spectrum of use cases: With its five seats, the ID. Buzz is just as perfectly tailored to leisure time as it is to business use. With the three-seater ID. Buzz Cargo, an ultra-modern zero-tailpipe-emissions van is coming to market. But that is just the beginning. The portfolio will be extended when another model with a longer wheelbase and a broader range of possibilities in the interior debuts within the coming year.

The standard wheelbase versions (117.6 in) of the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo are just 185.5 inches long. By way of comparison, the wheelbase of the new ID. Buzz is only two millimeters different to that of the T6.1, which is 193.1 inches long. The ID. Buzz thus offers a similar internal length, but is able to use smaller parking spaces.

Thanks to the space-saving MEB concept, the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo offer unusually good space utilization. The five-seater ID. Buzz takes up to 39.6 cu ft of luggage even with all seats occupied. The maximum load capacity of the ID. Buzz Cargo, which is fitted with a partition behind the front seats, is more than 5.1 cubic yards.


Using the latest ID. software, the model line will in future offer clever charging solutions such as the ‘Plug & Charge’ function. 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. And there is going to be another new feature: bi-directional charging. This technology opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities, such as the ability to store excess power from a home’s solar panels in the ID. Buzz’s battery and to feed it back into the home in the evening.