The buzz is too heavy and expensive: Temporary end to VW’s electric caravan!

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As the Electric Bulli ID. When Buzz finally hit newsstands last year, camping fans all over the country were wringing their hands. Automobile manufacturer VW never made a secret that it was developing the new ID. Buzz also wants to bring the iconic Camper California to market as quickly as possible. This was supposed to happen during the 2025 outdoor season. It’s even more surprising that electric car magazine Edison has now announced the temporary demise of electric caravans.

As the magazine reports, citing internal sources at VW Commercial Vehicles in Hannover (D), there are two main reasons why development has stalled: ID. The California, where the electric camper will be officially called, is based on the ID, which will be released in early 2024. Buzz XL is 4.96 meters long and has a curb weight of 2.7 tonnes. The weight of a camping version with a sunroof, sunshade and full extension, without passengers and luggage of course, would quickly exceed three tonnes! The 3.5 ton limit would be exceeded in a short time for vehicles that could be used with a normal B vehicle license.

There probably won’t be any e-campers before 2030

In particular, the 85 kilowatt-hour battery integrated into the underbody contributes significantly to the proud curb weight of the bus. Installing a smaller battery, as used in other ID models, was probably not an option for those in charge at VW: the Buzz XL’s standard range of 460 kilometers would probably be reduced to around 400 kilometers in the heavier campervan. Apparently you don’t want to expect anything less from camping enthusiasts.

And there is a price: normal identity. The price of the Buzz XL will be around 75,000 francs. With camping equipment, the price would increase significantly again and then quickly reach the 90,000 franc mark. All the problems mentioned (high weight, short range, high price) actually have only one solution in the medium term: A new battery technology that makes battery cells lighter and more powerful and at the same time pushes the price up. down. However, the market launch of such a technology will likely occur much later than 2025. Fans will probably have to wait until the end of the decade for an all-electric Bulli camper.

Plugin as workaround

VW has at least a small consolation for all California fans who want to go electric on their camping holidays: The automaker’s commercial vehicle division introduced the T7 California Concept at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf (D) at the end of August. It will probably go to the series that will be available in 2024. This is the camping version of the VW T7 Multivan, launched at the end of 2021, which should cover almost 50 kilometers fully electric, thanks to a plug-in hybrid drive and a rechargeable battery. But the T7 California will probably be nothing more than a bargain. The “eHybrid” long version with 218 hp plug-in drive currently starts at around 68,000 francs.

Source: Blick