VW teases the ID. Buzz van, which will be fully unveiled on March 9

VW's got some buzz coming your way next month, in the form of the ID. Buzz van. Or should we say, Transporter. People mover? Bulli? All of the above? Anyway, the company has been hard at work reinventing the iconic T/Transporter "Bulli" van which has been a staple for seven decades.

Obviously the new version is all-electric, and its name is almost as cute as its shape: meet the ID. Buzz, to be fully unveiled on March 9. This is based on the ID.4, which means it will probably share most of the underlying drivetrain specs - although the Buzz is apparently RWD-only. Oh, and it couldn't look more different.

There will be two body versions for the Buzz, the ID. Buzz five-seater and ID. Buzz Cargo van, with the latter being self-descriptive. Both will have 150 kW of power with 310 Nm maximum torque and a battery with 77 kWh usable capacity, which means this is the ID.4's Pro Performance drivetrain. The top speed for the Buzz is however limited at 145 km/h (90 mph), which is less than for the ID.4 - we're assuming the aerodynamics of the van are worse and that may have something to do with it.

The wheelbase is 2,988 mm (117"), from a length of just 4,712 mm (185"). That means that while the Buzz is less long than the T6.1 it will replace (by 192 mm or 7.5"), its wheelbase is only 2 mm (0.07") less. The Buzz is 1,985 mm (78") wide, and 1,937 mm or 1,938 mm tall (76"). That means it's also slightly shorter than the T6.1. Wheel sizes start at 18" and go all the way up to 21".

Trunk capacity is 1,121 l with all seats occupied, while the ID. Buzz cargo can fit over 3.9 m3 of stuff. The Buzz will be "plug & charge" capable, meaning it will auto-ID itself when you plug it in, removing the need for you to carry multiple charging cards with you. It will also support bidirectional charging and over-the-air updates.

The pre-production fleet is currently touring Europe for the final checks needed under everyday conditions, to make sure everything works as intended before the March 9 announcement.

In the images you see above and below, the ID. Buzz is still "camouflaged", but very lightly so. VW boasts that most of the design features of the 2017 ID. BUZZ concept that this is based on have been transferred over.

Production will commence in the first half of this year, with European deliveries set to start in September. The ID. Buzz will also be marketed in the USA at some later point.