The US version of VW ID Buzz will be 10 inches longer than in Europe

VW ID Buzz went on sale in Europe not so long ago and the entire production for 2023 is pretty much sold out. Customers across the pond though are still waiting with no indication of when the sales will start. What is even more interesting, is a complete lack of details for the US version of ID Buzz.

Aren’t the the European and US versions identical, we hear you ask. It turns out they aren’t. In fact the US version of ID Buzz comes with quite a sizable difference - nearly a foot of it, to be exact. Thanks to VW engineers we know now that the US version will be 196.1 inches long - that’s 10.6 inches longer than its European sibling.

Let’s dig in a little bit deeper. VW confirmed that the US version of ID Buzz will be introduced in 2023 and reason for that was given as added engineering development. From the very start, the European version was referred to as SWB - short wheel base. VW officials confirmed as well that the European SWB version will not be available in North America.

Why the extra length then? The ID Buzz that will go on sale in the US and Canada will have three rows of seats unlike its European counterpart, which comes only with two rows. Isn’t the 10.6” of extra length a bit short for a third row seats?

Digging a little bit deeper returns interesting information - although the overall length will be longer by 10.6”, the wheelbase of the US version will stand at 129.9” (3,300 mm) or exactly 12.3 inches more.

Bigger wheelbase means more room inside, just over 30 cm is a huge difference. The exterior length difference of 10.6 inches wasn’t denied by VW officials when questioned on the subject. What they did conform was the ID Buzz availability - the sales are expected to start in 2024.

Those measurements are eerily similar to ID Buzz California presented at the IAAA back in 2017, which already then was confirmed by the VW people at the show, to be coming to Europe in a shorter version - indicating again the prototype was meant for North American markets.

When the ID Buzz comes to the US it will be initially available in the RWD single motor version with 201 hp. The European versions come with a 77 kWh battery that’s good for 260 miles of driving range. Increased wheelbase means more room for bigger battery - that would make a lot of sense for VW to sweeten the deal and give something extra to customers in exchange for the long wait.

Will the AWD version be available in the US? Absolutely yes, at some point but definitely not from the start. Once all the supply chain issues are ironed out, once VW is up to speed with manufacturing in the US and once its deal with Canada for battery materials is in place - then we will see the hotter, twin-motor AWD versions leaving the assembly lines.

When? We’d be lucky if it happened in 2025 but we can at least hope for it. But when ID Buzz arrives in the US, it will fully qualify for the new EV tax credit which has to be great news

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