Excited about the coming Volkswagen ID. Buzz all-electric microbus? Well now you can double your excitement. The German automaker has announced it plans on making a second, distinct model based on its electric microbus concept.
As part of its Planning Round 70 presentation, in which it updated and expanded on its ambitious electrification strategy, Volkswagen confirmed that it will produce not only the ID. Buzz, but also two other models based on the same concept that that microbus is derived from: a line of MOIA autonomous-drive shuttle buses (to be called ID. Buzz AD), and something called the ID. California.
The new addition to VW’s EV roster will be a campervan powered solely by electricity. And, the ID. California will be manufactured in… Hanover, Germany, as well as at VW’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
No further details were shared today, save for the likely length of the van: 4940 mm. That will make it one of the biggest models to date built on the automaker’s MEB platform. The model is expected to be ready at some point in “the second half of this decade”, which of course leaves lots of time for development, changes and perhaps even the cancellation of the project, who knows.
In the meantime, the ID. Buzz is much closer on the horizon. It won’t feature campervan equipment, but it will be available as of 2023 in a number of configurations for its battery pack and capacity, and offering various ranges (though the maximum is expected to be close to 550 km). As we’ve previously reported, there will also be an ID. Buzz Cargo version meant to transport, well, cargo, and its range is expected to top out at 600 km or so.