It’s been four long years since Volkswagen confirmed it would put the electric ID. Buzz MPV concept into production. It looks like the company’s attention has finally turned fully to the MPV, now that the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV have gone on sale.
Evidence of this has been provided by Instagram user @red.david to our spy photographers at CarPix, who sent us images of a prototype wearing a production body for the first time. Gone is the truncated T6 Transporter that was the previous mule, replaced by a mostly finalised design that bears a striking resemblance to the aforementioned show car.
Of course, Wolfsburg isn’t ready to show everything just yet, so it’s stuck on decoy headlight and grille decals to make it look like a Renault Trafic, as well as some Opel-inspired taillight stickers. The distinctive design is hard to hide, however, so it hasn’t been able to fool us.
Behind those decals, the actual headlights are slim trapezoidal units with “tails” that extend well into the front fenders. They are connected to a front fascia that dips down towards the bumper, mimicking the V-shaped design of the original Microbus. A slim strip links the lamps to the VW badge and is likely available with LED lighting as an option, just like the rest of the Volkswagen lineup.
Down below, there are vertical corner air inlets and a large centre intake opening made up of lots of little rhombus holes, in a similar fashion to the ID.4. Along the side, the concept’s discrete side windows have been replaced by a clean wraparound graphic stretching from the windscreen rearwards, while a sharp shoulder crease links the headlights to the taillight strip at the rear.
Helpfully, Volkswagen parked the car next to a T6 Multivan, illustrating that the ID. Buzz will be shorter and lower than its engine-powered sibling, which would put it around the same size as the smaller Caddy. The vehicle you see here is, in fact, the commercial ID. Cargo panel van, which ditches the rear side windows and the driver’s side rear door.
The ID. Buzz is based on the same Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) platform as the ID.3 and ID.4 and will likely be offered with the same powertrains. These include a standard rear motor with 150 kW (204 PS) and an all-wheel drive option with an additional front motor. On the ID.4 GTX, the latter delivers an extra 80 kW (109 PS) and contributes to a total output of 220 kW (299 PS). Battery options will reportedly range from 48 to 111 kWh, the latter providing a range of up to 550 km.
GALLERY: Volkswagen ID. Buzz concept 
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