Volkswagen confirms electric microbus

Volkswagen has confirmed that it plans to bring an all-electric microbus to its dealerships by 2022. The vehicle will be based on the Concept I.D. Buzz that was showcased at the Detroit Motor show and the Geneva Motor show earlier this year. The vehicle is seen as the successor to the iconic Volkswagen Microbus. It features automated driving.

The I.D. Buzz is built on the new MEB (Modular Electrification Toolkit) platform, which has floor-mounted batteries, wheels at the corners and drive motors between the axles. The vehicle measures 4,942 mm in length, 1,976 mm in width and 1,963 mm in height.

On the inside, the I.D. Buzz features a flexible seating arrangement for up to 8 passengers. It has a small, rectangular, touch-sensitive steering wheel that retracts when autonomous driving mode is engaged. The dashboard features a tablet that can be taken outside the car for use. The driver and front passenger seats are able to swivel around and face the rear passengers when the car is in fully autonomous mode. The second row of seats can be moved as they are based on a rail system that is incorporated into the floor of the vehicle. This system allows the centre console to move backwards, turn the second row seatbacks into tables and also convert the third row seats into a flat bed. The vehicle also has a large, two-part panoramic sunroof.

The I.D. Buzz has an all-wheel drive system with 369 BHP on tap. Volkswagen claims that it is capable of doing a 0-100 km/h sprint in around 5 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 160 km/h.

Along with the minibus version, Volkswagen will also offer a cargo variant, which will also feature autonomous driving capability.