By Lola Augustine Brown
The Volkswagen microbus so beloved of hippies and other free spirits of the ’60s is coming back—and this time it’s electric. After showcasing a prototype of a re-designed microbus at the Detroit and Geneva auto shows and receiving a huge amount of interest, VW has now announced that it will be putting the I.D. Buzz into production. The announcement was made in August at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California—chosen as the most appropriate spot given the VW bus‘s ties to the hippie and surfer cultures.
Photo: Volkswagen.
The all-wheel drive next-generation microbus won’t simply be electric, with a range of 435 kilometres (270 miles)—it will have a self-driving capacity, a feature that VW says will come in handy delivering pizzas in the commercial I.D. Buzz Cargo version that will complement the consumer version.
The microbus will seat eight, and you’ll be able to change seating configurations at the touch of a button, allowing you to take a quick nap or to pop up the dining table for a meal before you drive off into the sunset.
Sadly, you’ll have to wait until 2022 to get your hands on the I.D. Buzz, but considering that the price tag will reportedly be upwards of $40,000 US, you may need a few years to save up for one anyway.
Volkswagen is one manufacturer leading the charge towards all-electric vehicles, with plans to have more than 30 models on offer by 2025.