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VOLKSWAGEN will show the production version of the long-awaited ID.Buzz, the electric reincarnation of the fan-loved Microbus or Kombi, this March 9.
Quoted from Reuters on Saturday (1/08), VW also plans to launch it in the United States by the end of 2023. The ID.Buzz is one of the “most anticipated and most awaited” models from the Volkswagen brand since the company launched the new Beetle in late 1990s.
According to Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess in a recent tweet saying, “the legend will return on (9/22)”. The tweet also contains a profile sketch of van ID.Buzz. Volkswagen has shown a series of prototypes for the new Microbus over the past decade. But the show’s previous vans – the Budd.E and the Bulli – never made it to production, much to the frustration of vehicle enthusiasts.
Keogh said that the three-row version of the ID.Buzz will launch in the United States, where the original Microbus became a counterculture icon, in late 2023 or early 2024. Volkswagen will launch the two-row version in Europe.
Volkswagen does not plan to build ID.Buzz at its US plant in Chattanooga. The company will also increase production of the ID.4 electric SUV at Chattanooga this year. Earlier Friday, Volkswagen said sales of VW-branded vehicles in the US were up 15 percent in 2021, driven largely by strong sales of gasoline-powered SUVs such as the Atlas and Tiguan.
Vehicle shortages caused by chip supply chain issues will continue to limit vehicle production and sales in the United States through 2022, Keogh said.
He believes as many as two million potential car buyers will not buy vehicles by 2021 due to a lack of supply, creating pent-up demand for this year and beyond. [antaranews]
