Frankfurt - Seventy years after its first model rolled off the factory line, Volkswagen is reinventing the VW bus, symbol of the hippy movement, for today's climate-conscious generation - but some of its former fans remain unconvinced.
Built on the MEB electric vehicle platform that also underpins the ID.3 and ID.4, the new Volkswagen ID.Buzz is powered by a rear-mounted electric motor that produces 150kW. This is fed by an 82 kWh battery mounted in the floor of the vehicle and thanks to 170kW worth of charging power, the vehicle can be fast-charged from 5% to 80% in around 30 minutes. No range figures have been provided as yet.
Strangely, though, despite the Volkswagen ID.Buzz boasting a 2988mm wheelbase that’s on par with the current T6.1 bus, the new vehicle only seats five occupants, although there is an impressive 1121 litres worth of luggage capacity. However, the company says a long-wheelbase model with a “broader range” of interior possibilities will join the line-up at a later stage.
The new model, with its curvy resemblance to the original VW campers that had their hey-day in the 60s and 70s, is a "turning point" for Volkswagen, according to German car market expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer.
Alongside the eye-catching passenger bus, Volkswagen has also presented a cargo model with a potentially larger market.
With its retro design, Volkswagen is hoping to build on the positive image of the first-generation T1 Camper of the 1950s, which inspired it.
The bus which "contributed to the history of the flower power movement" is now the car "for the Fridays for Future generation" and "hippies of the climate crisis", according to Dudenhoeffer.
But will it win a new set of fans?
Winning over classic van-owners to the new electric model however might prove to be a little harder.
The ID.Buzz had "taken on the V-shape" on the bonnet of the original T1 camper, says Melanie Wolf, 33, member of a VW Bus-lovers club in Bavaria.
With her partner Tobias Toplak, 43, she regularly hits the open road in her 1973 camper van model, most recently taking it on a tour of Norway.
"I am interested to see how Volkswagen pulls off the mash-up between the hipster world and the 'Bulli' mindset," says Tobias, using the camper's affectionate German nickname.
The spirit of "liberty and independence" on four wheels was difficult to match with the limited autonomy offered by electric motors, which need to be recharged, he says.
While there are no official figures, the ID.Buzz's range has been estimated at about 400 kilometres by the German motoring association ADAC.
"In the most beautiful places, when you spend the night in the middle of nowhere, there won't be charging points even in another 20 years," says Roland Graebner, 52, who owns a quartet of old campers with which he has "crossed Europe".
The fossil fuel-powered models "are just so flexible", his partner Britta Kellermann, 53, says, even though she finds the electric model "fascinating".
With the ID.Buzz "the adventures you can have will certainly be different", concludes Hans Toma, 62, proud owner of a T2 camper from the late-70s.
IOL & AFP