Photo: Stefan Baldauf / SB-Medien
The Euro 7 standard may be good for air quality, but on the other hand, automakers will be impacted by this emission regulation. So much so that some automakers have pledged to sell EV-only passenger vehicles by 2030 while others have stopped developing all-new combustion engines.
Long before the European Commission started to lay the groundwork for Euro 7, the peeps at Volkswagen were forced to embrace the all-electric future after the Dieselgate scandal blew up in their faces. From the ashes of the emission-related scandal, Wolfsburg refocused its resources on the MEB electric vehicle architecture for rear- and all-wheel-drive applications.
At the moment of writing, the German automotive group offers exactly seven MEB-underpinned models. The list kicks off with the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 crossover. Following those two, the remainder consists of the Skoda Enyaq, the Cupra Born from SEAT, Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron, and China-only ID.6 three-row crossover utility vehicle.
But VW isn’t stopping here because there are segments that haven’t been tapped into thus far. This brings us to the ID.Buzz, a leisure activity vehicle that serves as the eco-friendly successor to the Microbus hippie van we associate with Woodstock 1969 and the Flower Power anti-war movement.
Spied high-altitude testing in the Alps, the ID.Buzz passenger van and ID.Cargo work van should feature batteries with gross capacities from 48 to 82 kWh. The I.D. BUZZ concept from the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit levels up to 111 kWh, but alas, Volkswagen hasn’t yet launched the largest MEB-specific battery pack. Featuring a similar length to the Transporter family, the ID. twins may also get a roof-mounted solar panel that may add 15 kilometers (over 9 miles) of range per day.
To be revealed next year as a 2023 model, the ID.Buzz will also be available in the United States from the 2023 calendar year according to Volkswagen. Come 2025, Volkswagen AG intends to roll out Level 4 autonomous driving systems with the help of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Argo AI.
At the moment of writing, the German automotive group offers exactly seven MEB-underpinned models. The list kicks off with the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 crossover. Following those two, the remainder consists of the Skoda Enyaq, the Cupra Born from SEAT, Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron, and China-only ID.6 three-row crossover utility vehicle.
But VW isn’t stopping here because there are segments that haven’t been tapped into thus far. This brings us to the ID.Buzz, a leisure activity vehicle that serves as the eco-friendly successor to the Microbus hippie van we associate with Woodstock 1969 and the Flower Power anti-war movement.
Spied high-altitude testing in the Alps, the ID.Buzz passenger van and ID.Cargo work van should feature batteries with gross capacities from 48 to 82 kWh. The I.D. BUZZ concept from the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit levels up to 111 kWh, but alas, Volkswagen hasn’t yet launched the largest MEB-specific battery pack. Featuring a similar length to the Transporter family, the ID. twins may also get a roof-mounted solar panel that may add 15 kilometers (over 9 miles) of range per day.
To be revealed next year as a 2023 model, the ID.Buzz will also be available in the United States from the 2023 calendar year according to Volkswagen. Come 2025, Volkswagen AG intends to roll out Level 4 autonomous driving systems with the help of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Argo AI.
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