Photo: Stefan Baldauf / Guido ten Brink
It's not yet a good time to be in the market for an electrified van, but it soon will be. Look around at this year's IAA Mobility in Munich, and you're bound to find at least a handful of them.
Sure, some aren't likely to make it into production, at least not in a form resembling their current concept state - we're mainly looking at the MINI Vision Urbanaut here. Sure, its designer says "there is a chance for production" but one, what is he going to say, it's his baby, and two, just because MINI will make a van at some point in the future, it doesn't mean it'll have much in common with what we see right now.
The Volkswagen T7, on the other hand, that's definitely a model that will enter production very soon, and do you know how you can tell? Well, Volkswagen said so, so there's that, but the fact its interior looks very little like a room and very much like a regular vehicle is also a very telling aspect.
According to the Germans, the T7 will be sold alongside the previous T6.1 generation for a while, with the latter filling the commercial niche while the T7 takes care of the more demanding clients. Think of what Mercedes-Benz is doing with the Vito and V-Class situation, except with Volkswagen, its V-Class is also built on a completely different platform (MQB).
The Wolfsburg-based company will also release a third line of vans, except these will exclusively feature all-electric powertrains. We're talking about the long-awaited ID. Buzz, the retro-inspired battery-powered model that should appeal to customers who have a more extravagant lifestyle that could still do with a van.
Back to the T7, and you may have noticed the not-so-subtle plate just under the A-pillar that says "Energetic". We're not entirely sure whether that has to do with the vehicle's powertrain or is just a trim level, but since we're looking at a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), it could go either way.
As previously announced, the hybrid T7 Multivan comes with a 1.4-liter TSI engine that, together with the electric motor, makes a consistent 218 hp and, undoubtedly (no official figure yet), a solid amount of torque as well. Being a plug-in hybrid, it also gets a 13 kWh battery pack that should enable the T7 to cover short distances on electric power alone.
The Volkswagen T7 is presenting itself as probably the best choice for an environmentally conscious family that doesn't feel ready to make the switch to EVs just yet for its main car but wants the possibility to use it as a daily driver without having to burn fuel. Of course, how well the T7 will meet this need depends on how many miles it'll be able to do on electric power, and we feel as though anything under 30 real-world miles (about 50 km) would be a let-down. We'll see, but for now, you can browse through the pics of the plug-in van that's currently on display at the IAA 2021 in Munich.
The Volkswagen T7, on the other hand, that's definitely a model that will enter production very soon, and do you know how you can tell? Well, Volkswagen said so, so there's that, but the fact its interior looks very little like a room and very much like a regular vehicle is also a very telling aspect.
According to the Germans, the T7 will be sold alongside the previous T6.1 generation for a while, with the latter filling the commercial niche while the T7 takes care of the more demanding clients. Think of what Mercedes-Benz is doing with the Vito and V-Class situation, except with Volkswagen, its V-Class is also built on a completely different platform (MQB).
The Wolfsburg-based company will also release a third line of vans, except these will exclusively feature all-electric powertrains. We're talking about the long-awaited ID. Buzz, the retro-inspired battery-powered model that should appeal to customers who have a more extravagant lifestyle that could still do with a van.
Back to the T7, and you may have noticed the not-so-subtle plate just under the A-pillar that says "Energetic". We're not entirely sure whether that has to do with the vehicle's powertrain or is just a trim level, but since we're looking at a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), it could go either way.
As previously announced, the hybrid T7 Multivan comes with a 1.4-liter TSI engine that, together with the electric motor, makes a consistent 218 hp and, undoubtedly (no official figure yet), a solid amount of torque as well. Being a plug-in hybrid, it also gets a 13 kWh battery pack that should enable the T7 to cover short distances on electric power alone.
The Volkswagen T7 is presenting itself as probably the best choice for an environmentally conscious family that doesn't feel ready to make the switch to EVs just yet for its main car but wants the possibility to use it as a daily driver without having to burn fuel. Of course, how well the T7 will meet this need depends on how many miles it'll be able to do on electric power, and we feel as though anything under 30 real-world miles (about 50 km) would be a let-down. We'll see, but for now, you can browse through the pics of the plug-in van that's currently on display at the IAA 2021 in Munich.
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