Volkswagen admits slow start for retro van

Volkswagen Australia has admitted sales of the retro-looking ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo electric vans didn’t get off to the quickest start but it believes the tides are now starting to change.

Although the Volkswagen ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo were first revealed in production form in 2022, the pair didn’t arrive in Australia until late 2024. At the time they were the brand’s first MEB platform-based electric vehicles (EVs), but were soon followed by the ID.4 and ID.5 electric SUVs.

Speaking with CarsGuide, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Director Nathan Johnson said the company wishes it was selling more ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo examples, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

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“I think we’re really starting to see the growth now [with ID.Buzz], which is probably a little bit later than I would have hoped for as a brand director and from a dealership network point of view,” said Johnson.

“I guess we were at the forefront in terms of some of that in that space, and we’re actually starting to see really strong growth.

“Our ID.Buzz in the last couple of months alone has more than doubled in terms of its sale rate per month, and our inquiry has gone to levels that we didn’t expect, which is fantastic.”

A total of 73 examples of the ID.Buzz people mover were sold during November. Year-to-date a total of 444 examples have been sold.

Combining both ID.Buzz people mover and ID.Buzz Cargo van sales, Volkswagen hasn’t sold more than 100 examples a month since its launch late last year.

“We obviously would like to be moving more but we’re working toward that from a marketing perspective, from a knowledge perspective, from an education perspective.”

“I guess the challenge that we’re seeing is the fleets. They still have some of those worries when it comes to battery electric vehicles.

“But as I’ve said … it’s about us taking the leadership role in that space and educating those customers why these vans can be better for their business.

“Not just from a total cost of ownership point of view, but also from a drivability point of view, and we’re starting to see some of that strong feedback now off long-term loans.”

There aren’t many electric vans that rival the retro-inspired Volkswagen ID.Buzz currently.

Electric people mover rivals include the LDV Mifa9, Mercedes-Benz EQV and the Zeekr 009, while electric van rivals include the Farizon SuperVan, Ford E-Transit Custom, Mercedes-Benz eVito and Peugeot E-Expert.

Volkswagen now also sells another electric van in the form of the E-Transporter which is related to the Ford E-Transit Custom. It offers more cargo capacity and payload, but has less range and costs more to purchase.

The ID.Buzz Pro and ID.Buzz Cargo are powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor which produces 210kW of power.

This is fed by an 84kWh lithium-ion battery in the short-wheelbase (SWB) five-seat ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo, or a 91kWh lithium-ion battery pack in the long-wheelbase seven-seat ID.Buzz.

There’s also the ID.Buzz GTX seven-seat flagship which gains a front-mounted electric motor, bringing all-wheel drive. It has a total system output of 250kW, with the electric motors fed by a 91kWh lithium-ion battery.

Until January 31, 2026, Volkswagen is offering the ID.Buzz Pro SWB at $79,990 drive-away and the ID.Buzz Pro LWB at $84,990 drive-away. This sees price cuts of up to $15,000 over the standard price.