Volkswagen is moving ahead with the production of the I.D. Buzz, with the revival of the well-loved microbus into an electric vehicle targeted to arrive at dealerships in 2022.
The German automaker has been teasing customers with various microbus concepts over the years, but this time, it's official: the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz will become a reality in five years.
Volkswagen ID Buzz No Longer A Concept Vehicle
The Volkswagen I.D. Buzz was unveiled as a concept vehicle earlier this year at the 2017 North American International Auto Show.
The electric microbus, which follows most of the ideas and principles of the Volkswagen I.D. electric vehicle concepts, was shown to have a pair of electric motors with a top speed of 99 miles per hour. The cruising range of the electric microbus is estimated at 270 miles, and it is said to have a touch-sensitive steering wheel with an augmented reality HUD similar to the other I.D. concept vehicles.
Another intriguing feature of the new Volkswagen microbus concept was that it had a customizable interior — with swiveling front seats and all other seats able to be removed, repositioned, combined, or folded flat.
As a concept vehicle, many fans were enamored with the electric microbus, but did not hold any hope that it will actually make it into production. However, at an annual car show in California, everything changed.
Volkswagen Chairman Herbert Diess and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Chairman Eckhard Scholz made the announcement at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance that the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz will go into production with a launch date in 2022, after the debut of the compact four-door ID electric vehicle.
Volkswagen ID Buzz Launch Date Set For 2022
In five years, Volkswagen will launch the new electric microbus. However, during the announcement of the decision to go into production at Pebble Beach, several journalists were allowed to drive a prototype of the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz.
CNET's Tim Stevens was one of the lucky ones who got to get behind the wheel of the Volkswagen electric microbus and he said that he "was grinning ear-to-ear the entire time, more so than [he had] in any other car in a very long time."
The Volkswagen ID Buzz will also come with self-driving features. The prototype did not have the technology installed yet, as expected, but its massive and configurable interiors did provide a glimpse of what the future of autonomous cars would look like.
Are you also excited for the revival of the microbus from the past into the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz? Let us know in the comments!
