Sticker Shock: The Volkswagen ID Buzz Won’t Be Cheap in Europe
A $68,082 price tag in Europe shows that the U.S.-bound Buzz probably won’t be cheap.
It was 2017 when Volkswagen first teased the word by showing off its ID Buzz concept at the Detroit Auto Show. This was the first signal of the microbus' potential revival as an all-electric vehicle, and the world is still eagerly awaiting its release five years later. Bus buyers won't have to wait that much longer, as the ID Buzz is slated for release in the U.S. by 2024 and in Europe later this year.
Early European buyers will soon have their chance to get in line for their delivery, as Volkswagen announced this week its intention to begin taking preorders for Europe. And a preorder announcement also meant that the world would get its first glimpse at the ID Buzz's pricing, and spoiler alert: it isn't cheap.
Initially, the ID Buzz will only be offered in the van's Pro trim, a tony model equipped with the largest battery offered in a VW-branded vehicle at 82 kilowatt-hours. (Though a larger 111-kWh pack has been rumored.) Before incentives, VW says that the price for the German-market ID Buzz Pro will cost buyers a whopping $68,082 (64,581 Euro), similar to VW Transporter T6 California. The Cargo version, which the U.S. is not getting due to the chicken tax, starts at $57,381 (54,430 Euro). No pricing has been announced yet for the California, Long-Wheelbase, or lower-trimmed Pure version of the Buzz.
While U.S. pricing for the Buzz hasn't yet been announced, European pricing might help estimate what kind of pricing is seen Stateside. The German market pricing includes Value-Added Tax, which is around 19 percent. Absent VAT, the ID Buzz rings up on the low-side right around $55,000.
That cost is just a prediction, of course. A Volkswagen spokesperson told The Drive that it anticipates announcing pricing for the U.S. in early 2023, though the converted European price without VAT "won't be too far out" from the price that the automaker expects in the U.S. Depending on the trims, features, and battery sizes offered in the U.S., it's possible that the price could be significantly different when moving up or down the model lineup.
Meanwhile, potential ID Buzz buyers in Europe willing to foot the bill can begin pre-ordering vehicles on May 20. Volkswagen says that it is preparing to deliver its first examples of the microbus to customers beginning this fall.
