Volkswagen is exceptionally proud of its new ID Buzz, so much so that it just published a lengthy documentary detailing its creation. The manufacturer wants you to spend 42 minutes watching its new video, as it runs you through all the important stages that resulted in production Buzz we know today.
The production ID Buzz still retains many of the design cues of the 2017 concept that announced its arrival. That in turn drew heavily from the classic T1 and T2 models, so history and heritage seem to have been important points for VW, maybe more so with the Buzz than some other retro-inspired models from the manufacturer, such as the New Beetle.
After going through how the Buzz was designed and why it looks the way it does, VW moves to explaining some of its technologies it incorporates, as well as how the electric bus is being built. Assembly takes place at Volkswagen’s Hanover facility in Germany opened in 1956, and which currently makes the Transporter, as well as the body for the Porsche Panamera.
Gallery: 2022 ID. Buzz
Throughout its over fifty-year history, the plant produced all versions and generations of the now iconic bus, and continued with the subsequent Transporter and Caravelle models, new versions of which are still in production there today.
Perhaps the coolest part of this long video has to be when they show the actual ID Buzz assembly process, what it looks like partly assembled and what it takes to put it all together. And while it may look a lot like the classic, the new Buzz is cutting edge and Volkswagen even wants to launch a completely driverless version (without a steering wheel, with a rear-facing bench seat in place of the dashboard).
VW will begin Buzz deliveries in Europe before the end of 2022 and in the United States, it will only enter the market in 2024 because the manufacturer made the decision to only sell the long wheelbase variant, which it has yet to revealed (VW is still testing it as a mule these days, so it's not quite ready). The manufacturer also recently pointed to the modularity of the Buzz’s body, hinting that a pickup and other body styles are possible.
