VW to show production ID Buzz electric microbus on March 9

Depending on how you look at it, this news has either been years in the making, or decades: The return of the Volkswagen Bus is happening March 9. More specifically, the reveal of VW's production ID Buzz electric van has been confirmed for that date by CEO Herbert Diess. 

The news, which arrived via Diess' Twitter account with a short video of a line drawing of the van, notes only that "The legend returns on 03/09/22!" Subsequent confirmation by VW PR with Roadshow confirms that this is indeed the electric bus we've been waiting for, and the reveal date is indeed March 9, not Sept. 9 as Europeans might have read it (dates are commonly written day/month/year in logical, metric Europe). 

VW has been tempting the public with the return of its hippy icon since 2001, when it unveiled the snub-nosed Microbus Concept at the Detroit Auto Show. A number of subsequent concepts riffing on the original Microbus' friendly cabover design would follow over the years, but the ID Buzz that will form the basis of the actual production model bowed in 2017, also at the Detroit Auto Show.

The ID Buzz Concept, as it's known, rides atop VW's all-electric MEB platform, and the production model is expected to include both passenger and cargo configurations, including camper and ride-hailing models.

It's not immediately clear where or how the reveal will take place. March is typically the timeframe for the annual Geneva Motor Show, but that event has been canceled this year. It's also possible the reveal will take place entirely virtually, given the pandemic.

No matter where or how it debuts, the groovy EV is expected to roll onto America's roads in 2023.

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