As is often the case in the automotive industry, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to product delays. More details are coming to light as to why Volkswagen has put the North American launch of the ID.7 sedan on pause for the time being, and the overall story is starting to make more sense. The big reason for the shift? The Volkswagen ID.Buzz.
When the delay of the ID.7 sedan was announced, we reached out to Volkswagen for clarification. A representative responded, stating “The original plan was to launch the ID. Buzz and the ID. 7 at the same time later this year. We have now reconsidered, and will put all of our energy into launching the ID. Buzz first, and will launch the ID. 7 afterwards,” adding that “We want to be sure to get each launch right, and splitting them from one another will greatly help us with this.”
Translation: Volkswagen needs the ID.Buzz to succeed, and it’s throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the North American launch of that model. See, launching a car is hard. There are so many moving parts at play, and simply getting the vehicles to dealerships is already complicated enough.
One thing I hear time and time again from automakers bringing cars from overseas is that shipping is still a nightmare, and it’s a claim that checks out. Over the past few years, the roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vehicle shipping market has seen rates boom, and Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International detailed some of the big numbers in a 2023 overview of the industry:
Ro-ro vessels themselves are hot property and the prospects for the next 12 months are positive. After 10 years of relatively limited newbuild activity, demand has surged over the past 18 months with rates hitting record levels this year. Supply was so tight at the end of 2022 that NYK, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Höegh Autoliners suspended spot bookings. Much of the demand came from the automotive sector. Semiconductor shortages that hindered vehicle manufacturing in 2021 and 2022 have been addressed and output surged. Moreover, the Chinese electric vehicle export market has continued to heat up.
In theory, Volkswagen has already signed long-term shipping contracts with its main ro-ro companies, and the ID.7 and the ID.Buzz are built in Germany, in plants roughly 160 miles apart from each other by road. If both models were to ship out of the same port, and shipping contracts are already settled, every ID.7 to make the boat would’ve meant an ID.Buzz that didn’t.
Oh, and then there are all the other moving parts to launching a new vehicle. We’re talking about regulatory bodies to satisfy; showroom decor to print and ship; ads to craft; digital parts catalog entries to fill; media drive events to plan; leasing residuals to establish … the works. If you were a titan of the automotive industry, would you rather share shipping capacity, federalization efforts, marketing, sales training, parts distribution, public relations, and all other key resources over a lifestyle vehicle and a sedan in a crossover-dominated market, or would you rather dedicate everything to a high-margin lifestyle vehicle with a proper waiting list?
The ID.Buzz is top priority for Volkswagen in North America, and given the substantial delay between European short-wheelbase sales and American long-wheelbase sales, the automaker can’t get hung up on any snags. The ID.7 is still coming at a later point in time, but it’s not the big man on campus right now.
(Photo credits: Volkswagen)
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First, I can’t imagine spending $60k+ on this thing.
Second, if a massive European auto manufacturer can’t figure out how to get their product to market, they should probably just turn out the lights and pack it in.
“Volkswagen needs the ID.Buzz to succeed, and it’s throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the North American launch “
Problem is… they _aren’t_ throwing the kitchen sink at it. Or a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
I really wanted to like this. To _want_ this. Unfortunately… I’m thoroughly disappointed.
For the same price, I could get a Westfalia Vanagon in beautiful condition. It wouldn’t be a hard choice.
If they just started selling the California here, that would have been:
1. Real
2. Revenue generator
3. Keep much-needed respect flowing from the public
By now they lost like 5 years or more of T6 sales depending on which style which is nothing to sneeze at.
That face and with that sticker price? I won’t hold any breaths. I may light a candle however.
When compared to what made the OG Type 2 successful, the new ones are pretty much the opposite.
They know this thing will print money once it finally arrives so it makes sense to do everything you can to send more. VW is letting dealers charge what they want and most here in California say they will upcharge to around $90k and they have enough of a waiting list to fill the first couple of years. The comments about a van don’t get that EV buyers for 7-passenger vehicles have only the Model X, Rivian, a couple Mercedes, and the Kia EV9 to choose from… The Kia is currently selling like crazy at around $70k, because it’s the cheapest option.
This thing is like the god damned Loch Ness monster. Does it really exist?
Does VW actually have serious plans to sell it here? Or is this more free marketing?
This is an almost stale vehicle by now. Like 7 year old bread. Maybe VW thinks the US buyers will go all 1967 again and flock to these like a fly on a horse turd.
If so, it needs to be priced as low as is possible. And dealer pricing bull shit could possibly tank the whole experiment if they continue doing business as usual. If a stripped model can be offered at a 45K MSRP, it has a good chance here.
VW can go ahead and offer several trim levels with higher cost, better margins to compensate for the low profits of the base model.
Next thought. Would I want to try one? Yes. But there’s a ton of shit I want to try, am old, and funds are limited. So it will be a hard sell when considered against already established EVs and hybrids.
Don’t fuck this chance up VW. Really.
Maybe it’s time for VW to just exit North America sadly.
I’m laughing at all the minivan hate here because I sit in a school drop off line everyday day in which every other car is either an EV or a minivan. I have one of each and can’t wait until someone actually offers the combo in America. Minivans are great in real life. EVs are also great in real life. This will be a great car in real life and VW will have 100% of the market for a while – so there’s obviously no incentive for them to sell it cheaply.
The ID.Buzz is dead on arrival: the market for minivans is tiny. I expect VW to price it around $60K starting. If they somehow managed to sell it, decently equipped, for <$40K with >200miles in the EPA test cycle, then it *might* have some hope but I seriously doubt that will happen.
My prediction: the Cybertruck will easily outsell the ID.Buzz.
Yeah the long delays in getting the Buzz to market have been baffling, for VWs sake I hope it is fully baked and they can get the launch right.
Makes sense…I just can’t wait to eventually put a gas engine in one (after ripping out all the electric junk and selling or recycling) as a tribute to the classic hippie bus which is awesome. These look great, would maybe just do a V in the front. Speaking of V’s, maybe I’d put a HEMI V8 in it just to spite all the EV fanatics
This thing is basically the Duke Nukem Forever of cars at this point.
I’m not as upset with the design choices as some other people are, and in general I want one badly. But we already know it’s going to be insanely expensive. I’m a huge fan of vans. I’d consider an electric one. I can be swayed to spend new car money for something I really really want. But if I don’t buy one… I guess I’m not sure who will?
Came here for the Duke, leaving satisfied
Here’s a weird thought; If you had to choose the VW or a Cybertruck, would the VW make more sense? I would get my Buzz on.
There’s no scenario where the CT makes sense.
Huh. For some reason I haven’t gotten the new issue of Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International in the mail yet. Isn’t it included with my Autopian membership?
Great comment! Yeah, I thought it was included too…
If they’d have made it in TN so it was tax credit eligible, they’d have sold more. This will flop since it’s expensive and won’t get the volume VW wants because it’s expensive. Plus the specs are likely to be unimpressive for range. In AWD guise this will likely have a 250 mile range since it’s basically the AWD MEB platform with a box on top. I did want one but not at the price they’re likely charging.
They should have given us both sizes. This is too big to be evocative of the original.
I am still thinking this is the most likely replacement for my 2010 XC70 as my personal kid hauling vehicle, but the longer it takes to get here the harder it is to hold onto that feeling.
Don’t hold your breath, they’ve been teasing this thing for 20 years. Anyone who has nostalgia for these is in a nursing home.
I don’t know how VW is still in the US market at this point. If you are buying an appliance vehicle, you don’t want to pay a premium for a mediocre car with questionable reliability. Their marketing seems so dated – targeting the hipster millennial couple like 15 years too late.
Still haven’t gotten over them not giving this thing round headlights. It’s barely a step ahead of the disaster that is the Wagoneer
Don’t forget the grille. Air-cooled VWs and EVs have one thing in common: no need for a grille. And yet they slapped one on anyway.
lol I can’t believe that I didn’t even think of it. Great point
[sad 80s-era air-cooled Vanagon sounds]
The lack of round headlights is the most puzzling design decision since the 1979 Pontiac Firebird. They fumbled on the one yard line.
brb launching a hyper-niche market of front-end mods for the Buzz that do nothing but replace the stock headlights with huge round incandescents.
Personally, I think they would have been better off with another Beetle, since those at least sold okay. I still see them all the time. The Bus is a very niche vehicle, being large and basically a minivan. True, the Beetle isn’t exactly a family car, but given the ongoing success of the Mini, I think there’s room for it in the market. And I see it appealing to a larger group of people than a van would. It makes a good second car, a car for your kid, a car for couples without kids, single people, etc. It could also be a great way to build an entry level EV that people might actually buy. Whereas the Bus is expensive, and again, large. I don’t see people buying this unless they specifically have a need for a van, but the Beetle could appeal to basically anyone who doesn’t need to haul around lots of people and/or things. Of course, the profit margins would be lower, and since people love SUVs these days, maybe a Beetle wouldn’t sell as well as I think it would. Plus you’re limited to two doors or at best, some half doors for rear seat access like the RX-8. But to me, it seems there’s a larger audience for the Beetle than there would be for this Bus.
I’m not sure this will be a big seller either, but we know for a fact that small cars aren’t selling, the Beetle didn’t sell well the last time they tried it (apart from the first few years when retro was still fresh), and it remains to be seen if anyone can profitably sell a small EV.
Yeah, honestly either one seems like a tough sell. And it’s going to have to appeal to folks outside the “nostalgia” audience as well. It has to actually be a good van, and not just a fashion accessory. The Beetle was more of a nostalgia/fashion accessory car, because otherwise it’s just a less practical version of a Golf. But I think it sold well, to your point, when retro was still a big deal, and also because it wasn’t particularly expensive. This Bus is going to have a harder time of it, the retro car fads have died down some and it isn’t a cheap vehicle. It might have sold like crazy if they sold something like it alongside the Beetle in the early 2000s when minivans were still the default American family vehicle, and nostalgia was “in.”
I want it to do well, being an air-cooled VW guy, but I wish I felt more optimistic about the prospects of this thing.
They should do a new Beetle instead of whatever that sedan is they’re planning. Sell that nostalgia! You’re right about the bus though, I think they’ve got an uphill battle on their hands with that thing. I think it’s too expensive and it’s taken so long to hit the market that the specs are less than impressive at this point.
They should sell an EV Karmann Ghia coupe and convertible.
That would sell like crazy.
…I do not live in the reality where this will happen, and I hate it.
I don’t see this as going very far, assuming it ever gets here. Minivans tend to be vacation vehicles for the family. I would hate to have to stop every few hours just to charge up while on a long trip with kids. I originally wanted one of the early versions which were still ICE and my kids were young. But now that they are teenagers, no need for a van. Have no interest in electric, and I own 4 VWs.
Ro-ro row your Buzz,
Gently down the drain.
Verily, verily, verily, verily
Who cares about this thing?
Man, this bus teasing sure has been going on a LONG time. The final version debuted in 2017.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g39352963/vw-microbus-concepts-id-buzz-history/
Agreed! This thing seems like a super old model to me now. Still interested in the launch here, still interested in maybe owning one, but the surge of interest when first displayed has to have melted away with all the years going by…
You shocked me with “the FINAL version…in 2017.” The FIRST version of VW’s new van was a concept vehicle at the January 2001 Detroit Auto Show. Yes, it has been a long time.
As others have said are people still even interested in minivans in the US? And these are supposed to start at 50k. Are people really going to chip out that much? The Sienna starts at like 37k and the carnival like 42k are people going to chip out that extra amount for a first Gen vehicle because it is quirky looking? I was interested in these when first announced but after seeing the price that these might start at yeah I cannot see spending that much on a van. Guess we will see if they actually hit dealers this year like they have said they would.
If it actually starts at $50k, I’d be super interested in this. It’s an EV that can (hopefully) haul sheets of plywood, comes in 4WD, and isn’t a massive behemoth. If you use the lease loophole, you can use the tax credit and get it for a price comparable to a carnival. And I like the looks of this way better. I’m afraid that the actual starting price will be something more like $60. And that’s a no go for me.
I honestly would have preferred them to bring the phev T7 to the US, but that’s never happening, sadly.
If it costs under $80K I’ll be genuinely surprised.
I am sure they will “start” at $60k but by the time you factor in the “First Edition”, special trim packages that they will only ship out for the first 2 years, which will be saddled with every option they can tack on, and the extra $15k the crooked dealerships will add as a dealer markup, any prospective buyers will have to shell out at least $85 thousand for the first ones. And I am sure that even those will end up on Bring a Trailer and Cars’ and Bids for an additional $10 to $15 k on top of that.
Let’s face it, any mildly amusing new car that comes out (especially an EV). The dealers and manufactures will milk the novelty as much as they can with BS to ensure that it will take years before normal people can buy them. It used to be like that with only very special models but now its for everything from the Ford Maverick to something like this. Not just the cool new Corvette ZR1
Exactly. Ford’s website says Mavericks start at $23.9K, but new ones in my area are still like $30K+. It’ll be the same for this van and anything else slightly interesting.
I thought it was limited to niche or performance cars (like the experience I had when I bought my GR Supra last year. I struggled mightily trying to get either a Nissan Z, a Kia EV6 GT, Porsche 718 or the Supra and ultimately I went with the Supra as they were the only one who sold me the car at or below MSRP.
But now, trying to buy a mid size SUV or truck for my wife, we want something with personality, some off road ability and the ability to tow our modest trailer and just about everything we are looking at is the same way. We have looked at Frontier Pro4, Tacoma TRD Pro, 4Runner TRD, Land Rover Defender, hemi Durangos and Broncos all want money over list if you can even find them and even if I wanted to go Jeep (I really don’t) they are a premium as well,.
Well, if there’s one thing Americans love, it’s minivans, especially expensive minivans, and especially expensive electric minivans, so I expect this will do very well once it gets here, whenever that is.
Sarcasm noted.
Considering they have been teasing this vehicle for literally 20+ years at this point, I’m not sure I’ll believe they actually exist until I see one on the road.
was typing that comment and saw yours. This van is never ever coming. It’s the only form of nostalgia they have left since the Bug is dead, and most likely never returning. From what I understand VW is hurting and this is most likely an attempt to get some good press.
if they really wanted nostalgia they should have made it have a happy face like the originals and not given it an angry jeep face. Now it just looks silly. Until my dying day I will never understand why they didn’t give it round headlights
Agree, and also considering they have had years to plan the launch regardless due to said teasing of the same old “buzz”. I saw videos for this thing driving in North America years ago at this point, which I’m guessing was a press stunt for the global market but US press was certainly there. The strung out launch is just making me lose whatever remaining interest I had in the vehicle.
I just checked – DeMuro did a video on the SWB PRODUCTION version 2 years ago. Autogeful did a video on the LWB production version 11 months ago. VW needs all the nostalgia and goodwill they can get in North America, but the relentless teasing of this van makes it super stale.
The Bus concepts date from 2001. The Buzz concepts date from 2017. This is insane, it makes the Cybertruck and NSX look like immediate arrivals.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g39352963/vw-microbus-concepts-id-buzz-history/
Edited: I just saw you posted the same link higher up lol.
With expensive EV demand plateauing (and the ID.Buzz will likely be another expensive EV), and the lousy reception that the ID.4 has gotten so far, they really should have brought it to the US a year ago. I fear the ID.Buzz may have missed the ro-ro.
Or they could have used the delay time to swap in some regular buttons and knobs. I’d be a lot more interested in a VW EV if they didn’t do capacitive buttons for everything, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
I actually own an ID.4, capacitive buttons and all. For all the negative press they get, I was surprised to find that they’re fine. I got used to them quickly and never gave them another thought. Yes, regular buttons are better, but if you’re in the market for an electric SUV, I would not immediately cross it off your list just because of the buttons. It’s not like there are lots of other options that don’t have their own UI issues. With regard to the ID.Buzz, one thing it has going for it is that there isn’t really anything else in the segment (EV minivans).
I knocked the ID.4 off my list for a number of reasons, but you are right that the Buzz is targeting a segment where it will have the market cornered.
I haven’t driven the ID.4 long enough to know whether I’d ever get used to the capacitive buttons, but I didn’t like them and found that the compromises of the EV6 or the Chevy EVs are more to my taste. I also value ventilated seats, which aren’t available on the ID.4, and I don’t care for the look all that much.
Maybe the Buzz could make me look past some of the weaknesses, because a van would be nice. But that requires them to finally start selling it here.
It wasn’t my first choice, but I got a great deal on it, at least at the time. It was used, but less than a year old and with only 11k miles. I have the cloth seats, which alleviates some of the hot weather discomfort. I don’t love the looks, but my wife does. It is actually one of my favorite cars I’ve owned. Quiet, comfy, decent power.
If they would bring us the short wheelbase Buzz they could fit more on the ro-ro-right?
Not to mention “vanlife” is falling off massively post-pandemic. The ID.Buzz looked like an absolute home-run when it was announced a few years ago, not it just looks like an EV alternative for minivan buyers
As someone who constantly checks for cheap local used conversion vans…they’re still pricey and I don’t think that’s solely due to inflation.
Nonetheless, yeah, I don’t have high expectations for VW here.
Vanlife absolutely has not dropped off massively