Despite the hype that preceded its arrival, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz has not generated the sales the company had hoped, but brand CEO Thomas Schäfer says the carmaker is working on a new generation that will be more affordable and built on the company’s latest technology.
Speaking to British automotive outlet Auto Express, Schäfer said the carmaker was “working on it”, when asked about the future of the ID. Buzz.
Already four years old, following its launch back in early 2022, the ID. Buzz has not sold the way Volkswagen had hoped. That hasn’t been helped by the car’s price point; it went on sale in Australia in late-2024 starting from $79,990 for the ID. Buzz Cargo and $87,990 for the ID. Buzz Pro five-seater, prices which have only dropped by a few thousand dollars.
Schäfer admitted to Auto Express that the ID. Buzz “is on the wrong cost base” which he said “makes it difficult to really be successful and get into volume in the market”.
He also revealed that an all-new second-generation update will be built on Volkswagen’s Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) architecture, an all-electric, fully digital, and highly scalable modular architecture that the company says will underpin all segments by the end of the decade.
The SSP architecture is also anticipated to deliver increased range, faster charging, and better software – all improvements which could significantly aid the future success of the ID. Buzz.
Schäfer also hinted to Auto Express that more affordable lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries may be used in future models to further reduce the cost.
And while Volkswagen is working hard not to rely too heavily on nostalgia to cement its future, Volkswagen’s head of design Andreas Mindt seemed to suggest to Auto Express that the updated ID. Buzz will aim to hold the legacy Volkswagen’s vans and people movers with some modern twists.
“I don’t want to repeat a design over and over again, I think there’s a dead end to it,” Mindt told Auto Express. “We had that with the new Beetle. You do one Beetle, then another and then people get tired. How can you succeed from there? There’s a stop somewhere when you go down this path. We did it already and we found it’s no good.”
“When you have a van, it doesn’t have too much character; one white van looks like the other white van. So what do you do to make it interesting? Well the ID. Buzz is one of the interesting ones and when I do a van, I want to make an interesting one.”
So what is Mindt planning? He was tight-lipped, but promised that “it will be interesting” and would include the company’s “secret sauce”.
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