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Volkswagen gives go signal to I.D. Buzz's production

It's happening, the Kombi is coming back to life.

Dan Pabustan on Aug 22, 2017

Calling out all surfers, campers, hippies, and cool families – Volkswagen has decided on the production of its I.D. Buzz concept. Yes, the electric version of the iconic microbus from the German automaker is going to the production line.

The announcement was done at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. It will be launched after the debut of the compact 4-door I.D., which production was first announced last week. It is aimed directly to hit markets in North America, Europe, and China. Although it’s a bit early to tell whether it would make it to the Philippines shortly after these 3 big markets, it sure will be awesome to see one in metal.

"After the presentations at the global motor shows in Detroit and Geneva, we received a large number of letters and emails from customers who said, 'please build this car’. The Microbus has long been part of the California lifestyle. Now we're bringing it back by reinventing it as an electric vehicle."

Herbert Diess
Volkswagen CEO

Meanwhile, the production version will still carry the batteries on the vehicle floor – just like the concept vehicle revealed at the 2017 North American International Auto Show. Regardless, the cabin still has generous amount of space due to the long wheelbase. Diess describes the I.D. Buzz by comparing its size to a compact commercial van with an interior space of a large SUV.

Aside from the minibus version, the Buzz will also have the Cargo variant delivery van with zero-emissions and a level 3 autonomous capability. This will hugely differ it from the vintage T2 model which only served as a passenger vehicle. In addition, the production model will incorporate various design ideas from the concept vehicle, such as the multi-variable seating, interactive connectivity, and automated driving.

With the current development framework, the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz is said to arrive sometime in 2022. So, we’re only a couple of years away from seeing a modern-day Kombi minibus on the way to beaches.