A victim of its own success? 2023 Volkswagen ID.Buzz electric van sells out before a single customer has seen or driven one

Volkswagen says its incoming fully electric van, the ID.Buzz, has effectively completely sold-out months before it is due to hit dealers in Europe.

The global sell-out is thanks to over 10,000 orders having been placed across EV-friendly Europe, particularly Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, according to industry source, Automotive News.

The orders were placed by customers sight-unseen, with production versions of the electric van still months away from hitting the streets.

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According to the Automotive News report, VW is only capable of building around 15,000 ID Buzz vans a year at its Hanover plant presently, although it has plans to scale this to 60,000 by the end of 2023.

While this does leave 5000 vehicles left in the brand’s production log for this year, VW says pre-orders are yet to begin for France and the UK.

It spells bad news for Australians wanting to get their hands on the all-electric van family, which is served in both passenger and cargo forms, as strong European demand and a lack of local incentives or emissions regulations puts the brakes on VW Group’s EVs arriving here.

“Why would Australia be a priority?” Volkswagen communications boss Paul Pottinger told CarsGuide in 2021. “We’re a right-hand-drive market already right at the end of the production chain - we don’t even ask for incentives for EVs, just a level playing field, but Australia is the only market in the word considering disincentives.”

Thus far, Australia is yet to get a firm launch date for the ID.Buzz van, ID.3 hatchback or ID.4 SUVs, despite Volkswagen talking a big game on how its electric car range will be extremely competitive on price, and how outselling its Tesla rival will be an “inevitability”.

On the topic of price, the ID.Buzz starts from the equivalent of A$79,435 for the entry-level Cargo version, or $94,265 for the passenger version in its home market of Europe. 

The launch version of the car has a 77kWh battery pack with a driving range which has yet to be confirmed, with a 150kW/310Nm electric motor on the rear axle. It is capable of charging at a rate of 170kW on a DC connector, allowing a 5-80 per cent charge time of 30 minutes. Like other VW ID electric cars, it can charge on a slower AC connector at 11kW.

The styling is overtly reminiscent of the original Volkswagen Type 2 panel van, most commonly known as the Kombi or first-generation Transporter. It uses its new electric underpinnings to make for a particularly large interior space. The Cargo version is able to consume two European-standard pallets, while the passenger version has a luggage capacity of 1121 litres (VDA) with five occupants.

A long-wheelbase model is in the works slated for a 2023 reveal, and the model will make its way to the US by 2024.

Volkswagen Group’s first electric car in Australia will be the Cupra Born which shares its MEB underpinnings with the ID.3 hatch. Order books for the Born are set to open later this year, for deliveries in early 2023. Cupra is thought to be targeting a circa-$60,000 price-tag for its small EV, and while it’s more expensive than some rivals, it does sport a healthy 540km driving range.