Volkswagen (VW) has shown the production model versions of its new all-electric ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo, which go on sale in the autumn in Europe.
The ID. Buzz, which is built by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hannover, is also based on the VW Group’s Modular Electric Drive Kit platform (MEB).
VW claims the ID. Buzz is the first motorized passenger van with the drag coefficient of a car. Buzz has a drag coefficient of 0.285 – 0.29 for the ID. Buzz Cargo. That reduces energy consumption and increases range.
Many will be drawn to the design and the nod to predecessors. “The T1 – an icon of the 1950s – enabled people to gain mobility and freedom. With the ID. Buzz, we are transferring this T1 DNA to the present day and thus into the era of electric mobility,” said Jozef Kabaň, head of Volkswagen Design. “The ID. Buzz brings a lot of sympathy and proximity to people back to the road.”
Kabaň created a direct link with the original classic vehicle: “In the T1 you are practically sitting on top of the front axle – there’s no front overhang. For all its safety relevance and technology, the ID. Buzz has super-short overhangs.”
The ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo are launching across Europe with a 77-kWh battery (gross energy content: 82 kWh). It provides current to a 150-kW electric motor, which – as the flat engine once did in the T1 – drives the rear axle.
Click here to read the entire story from the UK’s Just-Auto.com.