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VW ID. BUZZ Has Sights Set on Australia, Here’s What We Know So Far
Anyone who’s had a chance to sit behind the wheel of a Kombi and cruise the local beachfront for five minutes would agree there are few cars on earth cooler than the VW Type 2. In fact, describing the VW Bus community as anything but ‘cult-like’ would be doing them a disservice. However, this is 2022 we’re talking about, so what happens when you make the Kombi electric?
We had the chance to ask Volkswagen Australia as they unveiled RHD models to the media in Sydney early last week. And while the VW ID. BUZZ isn’t confirmed for Australia just yet, it remains “the most important international market,” according to the brand.
Price indicative, there’s a distinctive flavour to this famous vehicle. A clean, all-electric people mover dressed up with heritage touches. It screams ‘exotic’ but not in the way a Tesla looks like a melted toaster, it’s stylish and interesting to look at, and we look forward to seeing them on Aussie roads.
If the brand is looking to recapture it’s market-share after a sales downturn, the VW ID. Buzz is ready to go and VW Australia believes they have a real “Segment Buster” on their hands. After getting to know the car at a briefing in Sydney, we have to agree.
Related: We Drove a Lamborghini Around Melbourne to Raise Money for Men’s Health.
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
When Does the VW ID. Buzz Release in Australia?
VW Group hasn’t green-lit the electric Kombi for Australia just yet, however, they’ve confirmed that we’re “the most important international market,” so it’s only a matter of time if you ask us.
In terms of production, the VW ID. Buzz will be manufactured at the brand’s Hannover facility on the same line as the T6.1 and T7 Multi. Most importantly, the electric Kombi will be produced with complete carbon neutrality and will be based on VW Groups Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB) platform.
In a statement on the global launch of the vehicle, Carsten Intra, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said “Both versions of the ID. Buzz are pioneering in terms of their sustainability, with manufacturing and shipping having a carbon-neutral footprint. We’re also using recycled synthetic materials and the interior is completely free of any real leather.”
VW Australia has confirmed this as their goal, looking to hand over the car to the customer on a C02-neutral basis. And before you even ask, they’ve also committed to buying back the batteries at end-of-life where they’ll be used for non-crucial applications. You can read more about their partnership with Redwood Materials here.
Related: Could Chevrolet’s Electric Silverado Take Down the (still unreleased) Cybertruck?
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
What Powers the VW ID. BUZZ?
Power and EVs generally go hand in hand – and while vehicles like the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S push the boundaries for outright speed – VW, BMW, and Audi have recently highlighted the unnecessary use case for such extreme figures, offering EVs that focus on urban use.
| VW ID. BUZZ Performance | |
|---|---|
| Battery | 77 kWh (gross energy content: 82 kWh) |
| Motor | 150kW |
| Drive type | Rear-wheel drive |
| Charge time | 5 to 80% in 30 minutes (170kW DC charge) |
Beyond the ability to fast charge through DC networks the ID. Buzz will feature bidirectional charging that can feed unused energy from the battery into your home network (aka. vehicle-to-home). The power transfer and communication take place via a special DC bidirectional wall box.
While the cargo is clearly targeted at tradies and small businesses who want to operate out the back of the BUZZ on a regular basis, the brand hasn’t included AC plugs in the rear as we’ve seen on the Ford Lightning overseas. There’s a mere 300w plug underneath the driver’s seat for powering… not much.
Related: This Citroen AMI Buggy is like a modern-day version of the Mini Moke, and we love it.
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
VW ID. BUZZ Has a Modern, Yet Familiar Design
While safety regulations seldom permit the latest Kombi to feature that hilarious (and fun) driving position directly over the front axle, VW has worked with its engineers to fit “its safety relevance and technology into the ID. Buzz with those super short overhangs.”
The slippery shape of the exterior reduces the drag coefficient to just 0.285 – 0.29 for the ID. Buzz Cargo reduces energy consumption and increases range. Just how slippery is it? Well, a Ferrari 488 has a drag coefficient of 0.330 to 0.324.
Another feature that has always been typical of the model line is the iconic front with its V-shaped front panel between the charismatic headlights. A feature accentuated on the new Buzz and while the headlights aren’t around anymore, they look quite sharp. We’re in love with the optional two-tone paintwork. Duck egg blue would’ve been perfect, but we’ll opt for the highlighter yellow.
The interior of the new ID. Buzz is enormous in both room and physical capacity. In the lounge-like, friendly ambience of the standard vehicle, five people have ample room for travelling long distances with enough space to store 1,121 litres of luggage, increasing to 2,205 litres if you fold down the second row. Two pallets will stack in the rear if loaded transversely.
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
VW ID. BUZZ Pricing and Availability in Australia
Overseas advance sales started in May of this year, and the market has responded enthusiastically with over 20,000 orders pre-launch. These represent a fifty-fifty split between ID. BUZZ and ID. BUZZ Cargo.
The all-electric Kombi will be built on the same production line as T6.1 and T7 Multivan with 4000 employees trained to produce the ID.BUZZ alone. Globally, VW expects to build 130,000 units by the end of 2023. Some of this success hinges on Australia officially receiving the vehicle, however, VW still hasn’t green-lit the vehicle for Australia just yet so expect pricing to come at a later date.
In terms of expected pricing for our market, the passenger ID. Buzz Pro (as pictured) starts from €64,581 ($100,184 AUD) in Germany, so we anticipate it will cost around that price by the time it makes its way Downunder.
What does the future hold for the VW ID. BUZZ? VW group expects a long wheel-base 7-seater to land globally by the end of next year, while bigger batteries (more range), AWD variants (that would be key for the Australian market), and a GTX model (VWs electric ‘GTI’ brand) are in early planning stages. We desperately long for a pop-top ‘Camper’ variety in the future. Make it happen VW!
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
VW ID. BUZZ | Image: Volkswagen Australia
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Ben McKimm
Ben lives in Sydney, Australia. He has a Bachelor's Degree (Media, Technology and the Law) from Macquarie University (2020). Outside of his studies, he has spent the last decade heavily involved in the automotive, technology and fashion world. Turning his passion and expertise into a Journalist position at Man of Many where he continues to write about everything that interests the modern man. Conducting car reviews on both the road and track, hands-on reviews of cutting-edge technology and employing a vast knowledge in the space of fashion and sneakers to his work. One day he hopes to own his own brand.
