Author: EVAI

Volkswagen has confirmed feature, trim, and color combinations for the upcoming 2025 ID.Buzz in its long-awaited U.S. specification.

The ID.Buzz will initially arrive for the U.S. in a launch-only 1st Edition version, VW confirmed, plus two other trims: Pro S and Pro S Plus. 

Pricing of the U.S. version won’t be announced until close to its launch, according to VW. It had previously targeted the U.S. version for first deliveries in June or July 2024, although VW of America has more recently suggested it won’t arrive until later in the year. If it’s any indication, VW still doesn’t appear to have a live online U.S. build tool, allowing customers to visualize its different American proportions and build combinations. 

As VW revealed with 2025 VW ID.Buzz specs nearly nearly a year ago, U.S. versions of the ID.Buzz will ride on a nearly 10-inch-longer wheelbase than the two-row model that won’t be sold in the U.S. Set to have a 91-kwh battery pack, the U.S. ID.Buzz will come with a single-motor electric powertrain for now, and it gets the 282-hp unit from the 2025 VW ID.4. A dual-motor version with 335 hp (also the same as the ID.4) is on the way. VW confirms the U.S. version will be able to tow with an available retractable tow hitch, but it hasn’t yet confirmed ratings. 

Volkswagen ID.Buzz (Euro spec)

In a review of the ID.Buzz EV in standard-wheelbase form two years ago (a version for Europe and other markets), Green Car Reports saw it as a great family vehicle in the tradition of a minivan, carrying over some of the excellent ride-and-handling traits of the VW ID.4 with which it shares MEB underpinnings. 

In its launch-only 1st Edition, which builds on the Pro S trim, the ID.4 gets a two-tone exterior with a unique 20-inch wheel design, roof rail cross bars, a “coastal-inspired interior” with a panoramic roof, a 700-watt premium sound system, power-sliding doors, and a power tailgate. 

The base Pro S will get 20-inch wheels, a parking-assistance system, 30-color ambient lighting, and the bigger, much-improved 12.9-inch infotainment system now given to most of the ID.4 lineup. 

2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz

The key differentiator for the extended-length U.S. version is its second-row bench seat, allowing space for up to seven. Pro S Plus versions get bench seating as standard in single-motor form, but a captain’s chair package—dropping capacity to six—can be added. The captain’s chair layout is included on Pro S Plus and 1st Edition versions, and will come standard with all-wheel drive.

Despite the delay to repackage this vehicle for the American market and add three-row seating, none of the ID.Buzz versions offer completely flat-folding seats, underscoring an issue with skateboard-layout electric vans and their underfloor space that’s occupied by the battery pack. Included on the 1st Edition and optional on the Pro S Plus is a Flexboard system that adds two fabric storage bins and “creates a flat floor when the seats are folded”—by laying an elevated panel through to the hatch, at the level of the folded second row. The third row can be removed completely, though, and the second row slides fore and aft 7.9 inches.

2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz

2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz

2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz

The Volkswagen ID.Buzz is a modern electric-van incarnation of the VW Microbus, and it’s been a long time coming. That’s especially the case for Americans, which perhaps had the strongest connection to the original Microbus via car culture. 

VW decided that Americans didn’t want the version of the ID.Buzz that’s 185.5 inches long, or about the same overall parking footprint as the bestselling Tesla Model Y, riding on a wheelbase about four inches longer. In its U.S.-bound XL form, the ID.Buzz is 192.4 inches long, 77.9 inches wide, and 74.6 inches tall, and it has a 127.5-inch wheelbase. It will also get a huge panoramic glass sunroof, measuring 67.4 inches long by 40.8 inches wide, with electrochromic tinting. 

VW is putting a big emphasis on color combinations inside and out for the ID.Buzz, and they’ll be different in U.S. versions. On the outside that includes bright white two-tone combos with orange, yellow, green, blue, and more, while single-color options are limited to silver, white, and pearl. Inside, the American version of the ID.Buzz will also get unique color combinations, including synthetic-leather seats in shades of brown and gray, a wood look for some of the trim, and various piping shades, with one of the combinations, Copper, said to channel “mid-century modern vibes.”

2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz

Remarkable cabin trim and luxury features were never part of the original positioning of VW’s Microbus. Nor was a mid-century design aesthetic. So with VW mixing its messages on the Buzz, and building a product that’s a modern take on childhood nostalgia at this point, it remains to be seen whether this now much bigger product connects with Americans. 

Enthusiasts feeling like BMW has lost its way can take comfort in knowing Genesis seemingly remains committed to the compact sport sedan cause and at a value to boot. The 2024 Genesis G70 may have a lower TCC Rating of 6.5 out of 10 than the BMW 3-Series’ 7.2 out of 10 rating, but it scratches where enthusiasts claim they itch. With a…

Circumstance keeps stacking factors against me. I’m in a short-wheelbase, 656-hp, right-hand-drive sports car on the wet surface of an unfamiliar racetrack, and due to a communication breakdown, the stability control is off. My trepidation runs high behind the wheel of the 2025 Aston Martin Vantage. Track session 1: Aston Martin Vantage…

It’s been three years since JLR announced a radical plan to transform Jaguar into an ultra-luxury brand selling only electric vehicles. The automaker has revealed very few details on that plan since, but CEO Adrian Mardell has now confirmed a concept will debut later this year at an event in the U.S. Mardell mentioned the concept while speaking to…

Sony is in the process of launching its own Afeela EV brand in partnership with Honda, but in the meantime the company’s new in-car entertainment app is debuting in the Vinfast VF 8 electric SUV.

Dubbed Ridevu, this feature offers access to a regularly updated library of over 2,000 movies over a 12-month subscription period, according to Vinfast press release. That includes “unlimited replays of up to 100 movies” as well as “premium titles” accessible by redeeming credits or via in-app purchases or rentals.

2023 Vinfast VF 8

This feature will offered initially as a complimentary part of the VF Connect Prime Package available on the VF 8 in the U.S. Owners who sign up for Ridevu will get access via an over-the-air update, allowing for streaming of videos through the car’s central screen while parked or via passenger devices while moving (the app is compatible with Android, iOS, Android TV, Apple TV, and Linux, according to Vinfast).

Sony has its own EV on the way, conceived as a device that essentially lives on the Sony gaming and entertainment platform. Created under the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture, it’s scheduled to launch in 2026.

2023 Vinfast VF 8

For now, though, Vinfast appears questionable as a platform for showing off the entertainment giant’s latest tech. A first drive of the VF 8 last year led to a rare takeaway that you simply shouldn’t buy one. It appears Green Car Reports was not alone in this conclusion, as the VF 8 was similarly panned by other publications. Vinfast has reportedly made a number of changes to its VF 8 in recent months. While that takeaway might have changed by now, it hasn’t given media much access to these improvements.

Instead, Vinfast is moving ahead with other plans. Despite U.S. sales appearing to be lagging behind targets, the company is continuing the process of pivoting to a franchised dealer model. In January, it revealed a pickup truck concept and a tiny SUV called the VF 3. This week Vinfast opened deposits in its home country of Vietnam for the VF 3 at $9,200—battery not included.

More stable new-vehicle assembly meant higher sales numbers in the first quarter for many North American suppliers, another welcome sign for parts makers hoping for more consistent production schedules form automakers.

This quarter’s F&I special section in the next issue of Automotive News explores the affordability challenges testing the automotive finance market.

Happy Mother’s Day! We won’t bother with a nonsensical Best Cars for Mom list, but we wish that your flowers are in bloom, your brunches are mimosaed, and your loved ones are loved. This week we hunkered down and dug deep on a few of the most popular new cars sold, and looked into why Hyundai and Kia sedans were the most stolen cars of 2023…

Why did Tesla sell a base Model Y with a bigger battery than needed?

Why do rural communities see EV charging as less relevant?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 11, 2024.

In a follow-up Hyundai Ioniq 6 test drive, Green Car Reports found that this electric sedan goes the distance for a competitive price—with more range in the real world, or by ratings, versus the Tesla Model 3. But the Ioniq 6 doesn’t quite get it right on all its details.

2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6

Kia has confirmed that its compact EV3 electric SUV is production-bound and will arrive next year. It hasn’t yet confirmed whether this model is coming to the U.S., although maybe that will be clarified after its May 23 debut. In a small set of close-cropped teaser photos, Kia showed that the production EV3 preserves many of the same bold design traits and so-called Star Map lighting theme as the concept. 

Tesla has canceled its cheapest Model Y, while adding a rear-wheel-drive Model Y Long Range version with a range of 320 miles for just $2,000 more. Additionally, CEO Elon Musk suggests that recently delivered base Model Y versions can tap into all or nearly all that range as an upgrade, pending regulatory approvals.

Hydrogen fueling at Toyota H2HQ

Although big batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are often seen as two opposing ways to electrify trucks with no tailpipe emissions, Toyota is reworking the formula in its hydrogen fuel-cell semi to include both. With a supersized battery pack but no plug-in capability, Toyota makes more of the fuel-cell tech. Look for the same formula, potentially, in future pickups.

As part of a commercial vehicle push, Stellantis plans a hydrogen fuel-cell Ram heavy-duty truck. Although details are yet to come, the decision to push well into the medium-duty sector with fuel cells coincides with other automakers’ decisions to shift away from fuel-cell passenger vehicles. 

On the sixth anniversary of its first EV fast-charger installation, last week—the same week that Tesla laid off its Supercharger team—Electrify America confirmed big expansion plans. It aims to boost its total number of fast-chargers by 25% through the year, to 5,000 chargers. That’s about 20% more by the end of the year versus what it has today. 

Electrify America chargers

In a strange turn of events, the oil giant BP may rescue Tesla Supercharger sites left in the lurch after Tesla’s still-puzzling decision to cut its Supercharger program. BP intends to spend $1 billion by 2030, with half of that investment to be made within the next two to three years. That will include 3,000 U.S. chargers, with some large-scale sites with 12 or more chargers, to be called Gigahubs.

Rivian is rejiggering the production capacity of its plant in Normal, Illinois, to accommodate up to 155,000 of its more affordable R2 SUVs annually. That’s more than the cumulative number of EVs the company has delivered since it started rolling its R1 family out to customers about 2.5 years ago.

Rivian R2

According to the consultancy Wood Mackenzie, as quoted in a Reuters report this week, growing EV sales in both the U.S. and China could contribute to a significant cut in gasoline demand in 2024. That’s due not so much to an acceleration in EV growth but to the cumulative effect of all the EVs now in service. 

Former President and current Presidential candidate Donald Trump reportedly tried to collect $1 billion in donations from top oil executives at Mar-a-Lago over the promise that Trump would scrap stricter EPA emissions rules anticipated to drive up the sales of EVs. Although with many of these companies recast as diversified, greener “energy companies,” the extra pollution might not be the image they’re looking for. 

Residential electricity rates throughout the nation have soared over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, California is seeking to cut the cost of home EV charging through a fixed-charge plan—essentially a package of energy for a flat, reduced fee, with the cost even less for low-income households. 

Are the flame retardants in vehicle cabins making us sick? Citing studies and investigations, Consumer Reports is calling on the federal government to reevaluate the standards, which were adopted in 1971 and haven’t changed much since. What’s more, the chemicals intended to curb a gasoline-fueled fire might not even be relevant in EVs. 

BMW Vision Neue Klasse X concept

BMW has started building a battery plant in Mexico that will provide more energy-dense cylindrical cells for longer range and faster charging in next-generation Neue Klasse EVs. If Inflation Reduction Act rules remain, the products might eventually qualify for the EV tax credit. 

In what might be yet another example of an urban-rural divide, a recent University of Michigan survey suggested that EV charging is seen as less relevant to rural communities than to cities. While more local governments are interested versus a version of this survey in 2019, they’re still concerned about cost.

According to a recent annual report from the American Lung Association, 39% of the U.S. population lives with unhealthy air. While recent EPA emissions rules for passenger cars and commercial trucks will help clean up particle pollution, ozone pollution remains a challenge. EVs are part of the remedy, as progress is also made in curbing pollution from power plants. 

Eli Zero

If you’re fine moving no faster than 25 mph, the tiny $11,990 Eli Zero EV might be just right for urban deliveries. In U.S.-bound form, the two-seat hatchback minicar goes up to 90 miles, and constrained by those speeds it’s unlikely range anxiety is going to be a concern.

And Supercharger drama aside, will the Tesla NACS connector bring more reliable charging? As a report recently underscored, the answer to that is no, as the vast majority of charging issues relating to EVs isn’t due to a failure of the connector but to the maze of interoperability that manufacturers, hardware makers, and networks face

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