After refusing to confirm its previous confirmation that a new electric VW microbus would go into production, Volkswagen has re-confirmed that the microbus will indeed be going into production in 2022. Annoyances aside, that’s really exciting!
It’s not exactly clear why VW hesitated on its commitment to the latest version of the microbus, previewed as the I.D. Buzz concept at the Detroit Auto Show, but it’s officially slated to happen now. It only took a few decades and a handful of concept cars, and maybe a threat from Tesla, to get here.
The 2022 VW Microbus will be based on VW’s new electric modular platform, which is set to hold up VW’s electric lineup starting with a hatchback in 2020. As we’ve gone over before, the electric powertrain is essential to the bus being feasible, because otherwise VW couldn’t package it properly and still meet global safety regulations.
VW is claiming that the production version will still have configurable interiors that allow you to move the seats around, and the new microbus will come kitted with Level 3 autonomy capability (which still requires an attentive “driver” behind the wheel and frequent interactions).
The most exciting news is that there will be a commercial trim produced too, so I’m sure the world’s flower shops and bakeries will immediately begin saving up a budget to buy one. It’s a good look. Let’s hope it doesn’t cost a fortune.