Although it might look ungushered at first, there is still a lot of makeup.
Volkswagen has generated quite a bit of buzz (get that? Its next electric vehicle is part of the ID. family. The ID.3 hatchback, three SUVs (ID.4, ID.5, the China-only ID.6) will be followed by a new body style in 2022 when the ID. Buzz. The production model, which was first shown at NAIAS Detroit almost four years ago, will officially be unveiled in the next few months.
In the meantime, a prototype in black was captured testing in a winter wonderland with a lot of deceiving camouflage. Those headlights! These are just stickers. How about the taillights. Fake too. Even the fuel cap on driver’s side’s front fender is a decoy. Julia Louis Dreyfus plays Elaine Benes in Seinfeld’s “Fake, Fake, Fake” series.
The LED light strip that powers the daytime running lights is hidden behind the white line at its front. Since the actual fog lights are likely to be integrated into the main headlight, those “fog lamps” are just stickers. This topic could be discussed endlessly, with many people pointing out the fake turn indicators on the front fenders that are actually part of the mirror caps.
We expect the same from the road-going model. The nameplate concept featured thin LED taillights. The prototype’s rear clusters appear to have been taken from an older Opel Insignia. The prototype’s passenger-oriented model was captured by our spies, but it is known that a cargo model and a California camper are also in the pipeline
The 2023 production-ready VW ID. Buzz will not look as sleek as the original concept, but it will be a welcome addition to the van market. The ubiquitous MEB platform, a zero-emissions people-mover from Hanover, Germany, should be available in both rear- and all-wheel drive configurations, courtesy of either a single-motor or dual-motor setup.
The Buzz will be available in Europe for the first time in 2020. It will then go on sale in the United States in 2023, but only as a passenger vehicle. An autonomous robotaxi will be available in 2025.