The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz, the moment it arrives, will be one of the most expressive, evocative cars on the road. It will recall memories for some and, for others, idealized notions of a past they didn’t see.
But a design always loses power as it grows common. You have a hard time summoning that wistful sense for the third example of something you see in a day.
That problem may be a long way away for this particular model.
“One or Two” Per Dealership
Volkswagen sales chief Andrew Savvas told industry publication Automotive News that each VW dealership will get “one or two” ID. Buzz models when the vehicle launches later this year.
After they sell, supply will remain “quite tight,” Savvas said. Volkswagen intends to give ID. Buzz allocations to “dealers who did a wonderful job on” the ID.4, VW’s first electric SUV in the U.S.
Want one? Line up soon. “VW dealers were told at a meeting earlier in September that the van will arrive around Thanksgiving,” AN reports.
The ID. Buzz is a spiritual successor to the legendary VW Type 2, also known as the Bus, the Love Bus, the Micro Bus, and many other nicknames around the world. The Type 2 was in production somewhere on the planet from the late 1940s until the early 2010s and became an icon of 1960s counterculture in the U.S.
It returns as an all-electric van with around 230 miles of range, 282 horsepower, and flexible seating for up to seven. Pricing will start at $61,545 (the $1,550 destination fee included) and top out in the low-$70,000 range.
Plans to Keep it Fresh
Rarity might be frustrating for the buyer who shows up to the dealership third. But there’s a strategy behind it. Savvas told AN that dealers had offered “mostly positive feedback” on the careful distribution strategy.
A design charged with meaning for the shopper can dilute over time. Automakers need to find ways to keep their most striking cars fresh.
“The car will sell extremely well for the first two years,” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Pablo Di Si told Automotive News. “Then you need to have innovations and different versions, that we have in the books, and you need to keep it interesting, need to keep it lively.”