Electric Volkswagen Transporter on E-Transit basis, T6.1 a little longer

It’s a complicated story, the near future of medium-sized Volkswagen commercial vehicles. The starting point is the T6.1, as the current generation of the ‘ordinary’ Transporter is currently called. That car was joined in 2021 by the Multivan, which is also called the T7 internally. Clear and ready, this is the new Transporter. However? So no. The Multivan is on the MQB passenger car platform and will only be available as a passenger bus. There is no commercial vehicle variant and there will not be, says Volkswagen, so that role is still for the T6.1 for the time being.

Volkswagen Multivan

However, we now also know the electric Volkswagen ID Buzz, which is also available as a commercial vehicle in the form of the Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo. That car may seem a bit smaller, but it is secretly wider than a T6.1 and is also quite close in terms of height. The length is a bit behind, but Volkswagen has already said that a longer version is on the way. Clear: then this will be the electric successor to the T6.1. However? No again, confirms designer Fatih Tabak of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. The ID Buzz is emphatically intended as an addition to the range, a hip and unique car that is bought more for its looks than its performance.

Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo

After the introduction of the Buzz and pick-up Amarok, Tabak’s design department is indeed working on a successor to the T6.1, but just like the Amarok, it is not entirely from Volkswagen itself. Instead, as expected, the car is based on the new Ford Transit Custom, more specifically the E-Transit Custom. The new Transporter will therefore be fully electric, but that does not mean that Volkswagen will immediately leave all customers who want a diesel out in the cold. In the coming years, the current T6.1 will still be available alongside the Transit-based Transporter, just as the Volvo XC90 will soon be available alongside the new EX90.

Ford E-Transit Custom

According to Volkswagen, the ID Buzz falls between the Caddy and the Transporter in terms of size and usability. If we look at the specifications of the ID Buzz, it is clear why this cannot be the successor to a ‘real’ Transporter. The car, like the T7, is on a passenger car platform, albeit in this case the electric MEB base. That means more comfort, but also limited transport options. Depending on the version, a T6.1 has a loading volume of 5.8 to 9.3 m3, an ID Buzz provisionally 3.9. The diesel Transporter can also transport up to 1,011 kg according to the law, while its rear axle is technically designed for 1,400 kg. The Buzz sticks to 650 kg and, at 1,000 against 2,500 kg, also loses out on the theme of ‘towing weight’.

The electric Ford E-Transit Custom, with which the future EV-Transporter will undoubtedly share its specifications, does have Transporter-worthy specifications. The rear-wheel drive electric bus offers loading volumes of 5.8 to 9.0 m3, 1,100 kg payload and is allowed to tow a trailer of 2,000 kg. Incidentally, Ford also ‘just’ comes with versions with fuel engines of this model. It is therefore certainly not inconceivable that Volkswagen will also convert that car, but according to Tabak that will not happen. The Transporter based on this Ford therefore remains fully electric, the T6.1 observes the diesel demand.

Volkswagen Transporter T6.1

All this naturally raises questions, because Volkswagen will soon have four Transporter-like orderers in house. One of them is based on a model from another brand to save costs, while Volkswagen itself has redesigned two completely new and own models from street to roof. That seems to contradict each other, but according to Fatih Tabak the models complement each other seamlessly. After all, with the Buzz as a smaller, more fashionable alternative, the T6.1 for the traditional customer, the new Transporter for heavy electrical work and the T7 as a luxury passenger transporter, every part of the market will soon be fully covered at Volkswagen.