Volkswagen’s reborn Kombi has been snapped during testing, dressed up like a T6.1 Transporter.
The 2022 Volkswagen ID Buzz will bring the Kombi, the classic Volkswagen van, into the modern era with pure-electric power and a spacious interior.
Potentially badged ID.7, the reborn people mover is expected to have powered sliding rear doors and a seven-seat interior.
A commercial version has also been mooted. Both will likely be built alongside an electric version of the seventh-generation Transporter at the company’s plant in Hanover, Germany.
How do we know this is not the all-electric Transporter out on a test run?
Our spy photographers report this tester is shorter than the T6.1 Transporter, and features the same compact instrument display as the ID.3 and ID.4 electric vehicles inside.
The car is wider than a T6.1, and has shorter overhangs to boot.
The production ID.7 was previewed by the Volkswagen ID Buzz concept in 2017.
With a claimed 600km of range on the more generous NEDC drive cycle and 275kW of power, it’ll be built on the new Volkswagen MEB electric platform that also underpins the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV.
The ID. range will expand rapidly over the coming years.
Already the ID.6 large SUV has been leaked in China, and Volkswagen has confirmed it will develop sedan and wagon versions.
Reports also point to city-focused ID.1 and ID.2 city hatchbacks, using a new ‘Lite’ version of the company’s MEB electric vehicle architecture with batteries up to 45kWh in capacity.
The ID.1 and ID.2 will be the electric counterparts to the Polo and T-Cross, with the ID.1 replacing the e-Up as the opener into VW’s EV range.
