{"id":158365,"date":"2021-01-18T11:16:33","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T16:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=158365"},"modified":"2021-01-18T11:16:33","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T16:16:33","slug":"vw-delays-launch-of-id-buzz-electric-microbus-by-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2021\/01\/vw-delays-launch-of-id-buzz-electric-microbus-by-a-year\/","title":{"rendered":"VW Delays Launch of ID.Buzz Electric Microbus by a Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The production version of the VW ID.Buzz is not going to be ready for a 2022 launch, but 2023 instead, according to VWoA’s Scott Keogh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re one of the many potential buyers eagerly awaiting the launch of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, the highly anticipated rebirth of the VW Microbus, expect to wait just a little bit longer.<\/p>\n

Originally set to reach showrooms sometime in 2022, the German automaker now says it will have to push the debut of the all-electric model back by a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish it was coming next year. It\u2019s not going to come quite as soon as that; it\u2019s going to be a little bit later than that,\u201d Scott Keogh, the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, said during a recent Automotive News panel discussion.<\/p>\n

Fans of the Volkswagen Microbus have learned to be patient, if not hopeful. The original model debuted in 1949 but developed a distinctive following during the 1960s and 1970s as one of the iconic symbols of the Hippie era. It went through a number of iterations in later years but by the time it was redubbed the Transporter in the 1990s it had largely been relegated to a small niche in the key U.S. market.<\/p>\n

(Bully, Bully: VW shows off the e-Bulli concept.)<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
VW of America President Keogh said the ID.Buzz generates plenty of excitement, but “… we just got to get it here.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since then, VW has made numerous attempts to come up with a new offering that would recapture the distinctive design and features of the original. That included a Microbus Concept that debuted at the North American International Auto Show in 2001, VW promising to have it in showrooms by 2007.<\/p>\n

Plans fell through for a number of reasons, but one of the key challenges was finding a way to maintain the traditional layout placing the driver far forward. The blunt nose of the Microbus Concept proved difficult to reconcile with increasingly stringent safety standards.<\/p>\n

VW tried again with the Bulli concept reveald at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, then rolled out the BUDD-e show car at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, that model making the critical switch to an all-electric drivetrain.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t until the debut of the ID.Buzz concept at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show that Volkswagen knew it had a winner, with a front end that clearly recaptured the classic Microbus styling, thanks to the use of a skateboard-like platform allowing it to move motors and batteries below the floorboards. Within months, the German manufacturer confirmed giving the Buzz a green light for production.<\/p>\n

(VW reveals commercial version of all-electric ID.Buzz microbus.)<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction\u2019s been huge,\u201d said Keogh during the panel, \u201cand we just got to get it here. It\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The retro exterior of the e-Bulli concept hides a modern electric drivetrain. The ID.Buzz is a modern take on the original above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But he didn\u2019t offer specific details about the delay, specifically whether the coronavirus pandemic played a role. The production ID.Buzz will be assembled at the automaker\u2019s sprawling plant in Mexico, that country facing significant problems with the virus in recent months \u2014 among other things resulting in delays at assembly and parts plants.<\/p>\n

What we do know is that the ID.Buzz will share platforms with the new VW ID.4. Set to become the automaker\u2019s first long-range all-electric model targeting North America, it also has been pushed back, with sales set to begin in the coming months.<\/p>\n

VW will offer several variants of the ID.Buzz, starting with a base model powered by an 83 kilowatt-hour battery, enough to deliver around 200 miles on a single charge. A single electric motor on the rear axle will produce around 268 horsepower.<\/p>\n

At the upper end, the Buzz will be offered with a 111 kWh battery pack, enough for an estimated 270 miles per charge, according to VW. There will be two motors, one driving each axle and producing a combined peak of 369 hp. The top-end microbus should be able to hit 60 in about 5 seconds, VW said, with a top speed of 99 mph.<\/p>\n

(VW ID Space Vizzion gets a go for launch.)<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Toluca, Mexico plant will be one of many VW is converting for production of electric vehicles. Its factory in Tennessee will have capacity for two models once an expansion program is complete. It will take over production of the ID.4 for the American market when that happens. All told, VW expects to have about 50 long-range battery-electric vehicles in production worldwide by mid-decade, for sales through its various brands. That goes all the way up to high-line Bentley which plans to sell only BEVs by 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re one of the many potential buyers eagerly awaiting the launch of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, the highly anticipated rebirth of the VW Microbus, expect to wait just a little bit longer. Originally set to reach showrooms sometime in 2022, the automaker now is pushing the debut of the all-electric model back by a year. Get details at TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5,12,9],"tags":[],"make":[113],"post-state":[],"category_old":[118,286,150,151,123,287,135,131,319,289,155,299,132,130,129,284,125,139,290,291,278,288,232],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158365"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158365"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=158365"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=158365"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=158365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}