Volkswagen brings back the Kombi, with a battery

Volkswagen It will show a production version of its long-awaited ID.Buzz, an electric reincarnation of the beloved Kombi or Microbus, on March 9 and plans to launch it in the United States in late 2023, the company said Friday.

The ID.Buzz is one of the Volkswagen brand’s “most anticipated and most hyped” models since the company launched its new Beetle in the late 1990s, Scott Keogh, Volkswagen’s head of North American operations, said during a conference call with media.

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess tweeted Thursday: “Legend returns on 3/9/22!” The tweet contained a sketch of the profile of the ID.Buzz van.

Volkswagen has shown a number of prototypes of a new Kombi in the last decade. But those earlier show vans – the Budd.E and the Bull – never made it into production, much to the frustration of fans of the vehicle.

Keogh said a three-row version of the ID.Buzz will launch in the United States, where the original Kombi became a counterculture icon, in late 2023 or early 2024. Volkswagen will launch a two-row version in Europe.

Volkswagen does not plan to build the ID.Buzz at its Chattanooga US factory.

“You have to get to 100,000 units before you can find it,” Keogh said.

Volkswagen will increase production of its ID.4 electric SUV in Chattanooga this year.