Volkswagen’s
I.D. Buzz Cargo electric panel van study heads over to LA for its North
American debut. The cute concept gains a new livery in the process as VW reimagines
it as a support vehicle for the I.D. R electric race car that set a new Pikes
Peak record this year. Based on the Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB), the I.D.
Buzz Cargo is the commercial vehicle version of the I.D. Buzz concept that
debuted at Detroit last year.
As with its people-carrying counterpart, the
electric panel van could enter production as early as 2022 in Europe. VW says
the I.D. Buzz Cargo is capable of achieving ranges between 322-547 km on the WLTP cycle, depending on the size of the battery pack. That’s
because the automaker envisions two battery packs for the all-electric van.
For covering “fairly normal distances” in the city
on a daily and weekly basis, the entry-level 48 kWh lithium-ion battery should
be enough. For customers needing greater range, VW could also offer a 111 kWh
pack.
Either of the two batteries feeds electricity to a
201 hp electric motor mounted on the rear axle that drives the rear
wheels via a single-speed transmission. If the market will require an AWD
version, all VW will have to do is add a motor on the front axle. As it is, the
vehicle’s top speed is electronically limited to 159 km/h.
Charging the bigger battery to 80 percent capacity
takes 30 minutes with a 150 kW DC fast charger. VW says the battery is also
compatible with inductive charging. Similar in size to the VW Transporter, the
I.D. Buzz Cargo is 5,048-mm long, 1,976-mm wide and 1,963-mm tall, with a wheelbase of 3,300 mm.
Styling-wise, it looks just like the I.D. Buzz
Concept except it has no rear lateral windows. Besides the smaller glazed area,
another significant difference is the 106-mm longer rear overhang.
That translates into a substantial cargo compartment with a payload of 798 kg.
For the LA Auto Show, the vehicle is outfitted with
a workbench and parts for the I.D. R in the intelligent shelving system.
