autoevolution
No Buzz: The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Is an Overpriced Underachiever
23 Aug 2024, 22:40 UTC • By: Cristian Agatie



Volkswagen seduced people in the US with the slick ID. Buzz that promised to revive the appeal of the legendary Type 2 Bus from the 1950s. Having an electric minivan with great DNA to support life off-grid has always been a dream for many. However, when Volkswagen revealed the pricing and final details, everyone was disappointed, pointing to a new Volkswagen failure in the EV arena.
If you've been following EV news, you already know that Volkswagen is not doing very well despite announcing an ambitious program to surpass Tesla. Unlike the EV startup, which is flooding the market with very attractive electric vehicles in key segments, Volkswagen has scaled down its EV plans. After Herbert Diess was ousted in 2022, the new management decided that electric vehicles were a waste of money and put previous plans on hold or scrapped them altogether.

Volkswagen's cutting-edge SSP architecture was planned to launch in 2026 to replace the MEB platform, which debuted in 2019 with the ID.3. However, the new management has pushed it back to at least 2029, leaving Volkswagen with an aging EV platform that has very few strong points. The MEB architecture may have been a good stepping stone during the early days of electrification. Still, it can't compete with more advanced architectures (Hyundai's E-GMP is a prime example) that rule the EV market nowadays.

However, the Volkswagen Group stubbornly develops new vehicles using the MEB architecture across its many brands. No matter the name or the looks, they are basically just re-bodied ID.4s. This means they share the same problems that have annoyed Volkswagen customers since the beginning. These include subpar software, lackluster performance, modest charging speeds, and, in most cases, outrageous prices for what they offer.


This hasn't changed with the launch of the ID. Buzz, not that anyone expected it. However, people looked at Volkswagen's electric minivan fondly, remembering the great time they had with the Type 2 Bus in the 1950s and its successors up until the Vanagon. What everyone expected was an electric Bus to remind them of Volkswagen's golden times. Instead, the ID. Buzz reminded everyone of the company's failure to conquer the US market in the years that followed.
Starting at $60K in the US, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz is not exactly an affordable vehicle. After seeing the European prices, however, nobody expected it to be cheap. With its retro styling and spacious three-row cabin, the ID. Buzz was expected to make Americans happily open their wallets. Instead, everyone is now pondering what they get for the money, and the truth is, not very much. That is, if we don't count the painful memory of its grand grandfather.

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz might have a cute face and spacious cabin, but it's hard to price these at over $60K when you look at its specs. A bold price like this creates certain expectations, which, sadly, the ID. Buzz fails to fulfill. The range, which hovers around 230 miles regardless of the configuration, is more worthy of a Nissan Leaf rather than a family adventure vehicle. With the ID. Buzz, it's more likely that the true adventure is getting to the next charger instead of exploring the unknown.

Add to that the influence of cold weather and higher consumption when driving on a highway, and you'd be lucky to reach 200 miles on a charge. This makes me wonder what the use of such a vehicle is if road-tripping is not its strong point. As a people hauler, there are more accomplished electric vehicles in this price segment, with the recently launched Kia EV9 as the prime contender.

The disappointing range is not the result of Volkswagen skimping on battery capacity. The Germans went above and beyond and installed a 91-kWh battery pack between the ID. Buzz's wheels. The fact that the electric minivan depletes it completely in little over 230 miles speaks volumes about its efficiency or lack thereof. It's not only the shape that counts but also the ailing MEB architecture, which is no efficiency champion. Despite Volkswagen promising more efficient drive units, the ID. Buzz doesn't seem to benefit from this improvement.

Had Volkswagen released the ID. Buzz in 2022, as originally planned, it most certainly would've set the sales charts on fire. Back then, a 230-mile range wouldn't have raised so many eyebrows as today, and the price would've been more palatable, too. Sure, it would've been a lousy road trip vehicle, but many people would've forgiven that for the sake of having a modern-day Microbus powered by electricity.

In 2024, when most people who wanted an EV had already bought one, I can't see the ID. Buzz as anything but a niche model. And a bad one at that, inheriting all the cost-cutting mistakes Volkswagen made with its other ID. vehicles. Not to mention that it arrived in the US market at a time when all the goodwill toward the brand had been exhausted after years of Volkswagen annoying its customers with poorly judged decisions.

At a time when "the roof is on fire," as Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schaefer said a year ago, the German carmaker desperately needed a win in the US market. However, the ID. Buzz is nothing of the sort, with the projected low volumes making it more of a curiosity than a halo model. Not that the electric minivan has seen better success in Europe. Less than two years after launch, sales in Germany dropped to just 177 vehicles over a three-month sales period. I'd say there's no buzz left for Volkswagen EVs.

Aggressive Hyundai EV plan aims to be Toyota's worst nightmare
The South Korean automaker is taking on Toyota's bread-and-butter, and some more.

Amidst a changing automotive landscape that is hyperfocused on a future of cars centered around electric vehicles, Toyota made a decision that would shock automotive enthusiasts and its most loyal fans and customers.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Toyota executives revealed that the brand was making a huge bet on hybrid-electric vehicles. The brand plans to turn most if not all, of its gasoline-powered nameplates into models solely offered with hybrid powertrains across its Toyota and Lexus brands.

In an interview, Toyota North America sales and marketing head David Christ told the outlet that the automaker's new models will be scrutinized for their viability to become hybrids.

"Going forward, we plan to evaluate, car line by car line, whether going all-hybrid makes sense," Christ said.

While the second-largest automaker by volume juggles its hybrid offerings, the third-largest in the world is just getting started and laying out plans to not only match Toyota's game but also introduce a potential game-changer to the world of electrified vehicles.

The Tiger from Ulsan
During Hyundai's (HYMTF) 2024 CEO Investor Day, the automaker laid out its vehicular offensive, which includes a significant investment in hybrid vehicles and the introduction of extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) to the company's portfolio alongside a complete portfolio of traditional battery-electric vehicles.

The plan, ironically called the "Hyundai Way" (Toyota's organizational principles are known as "The Toyota Way.") the automaker is looking to increase its sales numbers from an already impressive 4.21 million cars in 2023 to about 5.5 million by 2030; including 2 million EVs.

Hybrids, Hybrids and More Hybrids for North America
The first pillar of the "Hyundai Way" plan is its new fixation on providing North American customers with hybrid cars of any size or shape.

Hyundai finds that car buyers in North America are fueling an increased demand for hybrids that will only grow. To answer this bugle call, the automaker announced it is doubling its hybrid lineup from 7 to 14 models across various car segments, including luxury vehicles from Genesis.

To keep up with demand, Hyundai says it will manufacture future hybrid vehicles at its Georgia factory next to the battery-electric Ioniq 5 crossover production lines and the future Ioniq 9 flagship electric SUV.

The automaker said it targets a production volume of 690,000 hybrids in North America by 2030 and anticipates sales reaching 1.33 million cars by 2028.

Though the automaker plans to shoehorn more hybrid powertrains into its vehicles, it is also committed to improving the hybrid engines themselves.

By January 2025, Hyundai plans to introduce the next generation of its hybrid powertrains, which it says will offer improved performance and lower fuel consumption and include EV technologies like regenerative braking and bidirectional EV charging.

A new kind of car
In response to what the automaker calls a "recent slowdown in EV demand," Hyundai confirmed that it is rolling out a series of extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs).

Hyundai claims these models are meant "to serve as a key bridge to full electrification," as they incorporate electric motors, a battery pack, and a small combustion engine that serves as a power generator.

This combination allows both refueling and charging while also delivering more than 560 miles (900 kilometers) of range, which reduces its dependency on the already-strained charging network and away from the perils of the infamous "charger hogs."

Additionally, the automaker expects its EREVs to be more affordable than traditional battery-powered EVs, as they would require a much smaller battery.

Hyundai says it wants to sell over 80,000 EREVs in North America once equipped in select Hyundai and Genesis midsize SUVs. It plans to begin mass production of the cars by the end of 2026, with sales beginning in 2027.

Hyundai Motor Company trades on OTC markets under the ticker HYMTF. The stock is up 3.68% since the start of the opening bell, and traded at $64.64 at the time of writing.

Fri, 2 Aug 2024

By Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hyundai, Kia Motors, Tata and Mahindra are lobbying India's most populous state not to offer incentives for hybrid cars, saying the move - set to help rivals Toyota and Maruti Suzuki - would hit targets on adopting electric cars and investment plans.

Four separate company letters to Uttar Pradesh, seen by Reuters, highlight the rivalry between automakers in a country where taxation is skewed in favour of EVs.


In a major lobbying win for Toyota, Uttar Pradesh, which alone accounts for 10% of India's car sales, waived registration taxes on some hybrid cars last month, making them 10% cheaper and resulting in savings of up to $5,200 on a Toyota Camry hybrid sedan, for instance.

Hyundai, Kia, Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra have not publicly commented on Uttar Pradesh's move, but their letters to the state show they are opposing the tax waivers, citing the impact on India's goal of ensuring that 30% of new car sales are electric from 2030.

Hyundai, which is gearing up for a $3 billion Indian IPO, said in a July 12 letter that the move would "derail" electrification of transport, while Kia said promoting hybrid vehicles would negatively impact widespread EV adoption.

Mahindra's letter flagged concerns about disruption to the EV market.

Tata, which raised $1 billion from private equity firm TPG in 2021 for its EV business, said in its July 11 letter that favouring hybrids put at risk the industry's $9 billion committed for developing EVs. It added this investment was the result of a "clear focus" on the sector by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Hyundai declined to comment, while Tata, Mahindra and Kia did not respond to queries. None of these companies sells hybrids in India.


Vijay Kumar, an Uttar Pradesh transport official, told Reuters the state government was reviewing objections received from some companies and that no decision had been taken. An industry meeting will be held on Aug. 11, he said.

Modi's government imposes a federal tax of just 5% on EVs, while hybrids are taxed at 43% - just below the 48% tax for gasoline cars. Road and registration taxes in states - like the one Uttar Pradesh waived - are extra.

India registered 4.2 million car sales in its 2023-24 financial year, with hybrids and EVs accounting for fewer than 100,000 sales each.

Uttar Pradesh's tax move has triggered concerns among EV players that other states could follow suit, executives say.

Hybrid proponents, however, say there is not enough charging infrastructure for EVs in India and hybrids - which use both a battery and combustion engine - should be promoted as they are less polluting than fossil fuel-only cars.

In a statement, Maruti said: "If in addition to EVs, hybrids get encouragement, it will bring major incremental gains towards national objectives of oil import reduction and CO2 reduction." Toyota did not respond to Reuters queries.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah; Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow; Editing Mark Potter)