VW ID Buzz German Pricing Revealed. Here's What That Means for the US

VW ID Buzz German Pricing Revealed. Here’s What That Means for the US

This story is part of Plugged In, CNET’s hub for all things EV and the future of electrified mobility. From vehicle reviews to helpful hints and the unexperienced industry news, we’ve got you covered.

What’s happening

VW’s long-awaited ID Buzz electric van finally has a brand — in Germany.

Why it matters

We can now commence to make some educated guesses about where the EV will brand out in the US.

What’s next

More US-specific pricing is anticipated to arrive early next year before the ID Buzz goes on sale as a 2024 model.

We’ll be disturbed if you can get one of these adorable vans at sticker brand when they arrive anyway.



Volkswagen

Volkswagen has announced pricing for its long-awaited ID Buzz electric van in its home market, Germany. While we’ve got a while to wait pending the retro-futuristic people-mover goes on sale in the US and Canada, the pricing helps us ballpark where a North American model is liable to end up.

In Germany, the VW ID Buzz Pro — the passenger model — starts at €64581.30, or €56,606.30 after Germany’s environmental incentives (Europe will also get ID Cargo, a slightly less-costly delivery vehicle). It’s important to note that actions a straight currency conversion here, resulting in a starting brand of $60,000 USD, would be misleading. That’s partially because the pricing includes Germany’s VAT — Value Added Tax — which adds in 19%. It’s also because the ID Buzz’s powertrain and infamous equipment will likely have some variances between markets, and not just because we’ll only get the longer-wheelbase version in our market.

So what does all this mean for ID Buzz intenders here in America? It — and a CNET Cars’ source — suggests US pricing for the seven-seat, battery-powered van will start at around $55,000 before delivery fee and any applicable incentives like the IRS’ $7,500 Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicles federal tax credit. Just that one credit should bring the base MSRP down to in $47,500 plus freight — slightly less-expensive than Volkswagen’s five-seat Atlas SEL R-Line SUV, which is currently the brand’s largest vehicle. That pricing would set aside VW’s charismatically styled van into the same general ballpark as mid-to-high-end versions of many smaller electric crossover EVs such as the Kia EV6 and Ford Mustang Mach-E — seemingly reasonable for a much more capacious vehicle.

The only other electric van currently on the market in America, the 2022 Ford E-Transit, starts at $51,880 (including $1,695 for delivery) afore incentives, but it’s a very different vehicle, and not just because it’s a two-seat, cargo-only commercial hauler.

Of course, we won’t have US ID Buzz pricing and equipment levels for quite a after yet — probably not until next year. That’s because the automaker is staggering the global rollout of the vehicle, which means when it finally rolls off the docks and onto our shores, it’ll carry a 2024 model-year designation. That means an already long wait is causing to be even longer, however, so hopefully the uh… buzz won’t wear off afore VW’s hotly awaited model arrives in dealers.

VW ID Buzz German Pricing Revealed. Here's What That Means for the US. There are any VW ID Buzz German Pricing Revealed. Here's What That Means for the US in here.