Ready for 2024, also as an electric e-Transporter
Volkswagen has cut down its van range considerably in recent times. The ID Buzz and commercial vehicle version ID Buzz Cargo are still fresh, the same applies to the van-like Multivan passenger car. And what about the Transporter? It is also being renewed. That will soon be less of a ‘real’ Volkswagen than the ID Buzz and Multivan, although it will still have VW badges on its front and rear.
Volkswagen’s medium-sized van range used to be very clear. After all, there was one: the Transporter. In addition to being a van, it was also available as a passenger bus, as a passenger car and as a camper. Nowadays there are different cards on the table. The Transporter for passenger transport, called Multivan, is now its own model. There is also the ID Buzz, an electric space giant that also has a commercial vehicle version in the form of the ID Buzz Cargo. And the Transporter? It went under the knife for the umpteenth time in 2019 and is still going strong. The current T6.1 – as the facelifted bus is called – is in fact a further developed variant of the T5 that appeared in 2003. High time for innovation. In 2024 we can finally welcome a fresh Transporter.
Ford (E-) Transit Custom: the basis of the new Transporter.
The new Transporter will be a real VW product to a lesser extent than the ID Buzz and Multivan (T7). Volkswagen entered into quite a close relationship with Ford years ago. For example, the still young current Amarok is in fact a Ford Ranger. Ford in turn borrows Volkswagen’s Caddy for the Transit/Tourneo Connect. The two brands not only work closely together when it comes to commercial vehicles. For example, Ford uses MEB hardware from Volkswagen for the electric Explorer and it even gets a slicker sister model that relies on Volkswagen technology. As far as passenger cars are concerned, it remains a short-lived embrace between the two brands, but in the commercial vehicle sector the relationship continues as usual. The new Volkswagen Transporter thus becomes a technical sister model of the Transit/Tourneo Custom.
We have been familiar with the new Ford Transit Custom and Tourneo Custom for some time. The medium-sized bus is available with diesel engines, as a plug-in hybrid and – as E-Transit – also with fully electric drivetrains. The new Volkswagen Transporter – of which we now have a first glimpse – is also coming onto the market with different powertrains. Volkswagen has already confirmed the arrival of diesels, plug-in versions and electric variants. An electric Volkswagen Transporter – which will be called e-Transporter – can very well coexist with the ID Buzz Cargo, according to the reasoning in Wolfsburg.
The new van comes as a Transporter and as a passenger version Caravelle. The Caravelle will also have an electric variant. Customers can choose from different lengths and heights and of course there will soon be order flavors with a single or double cabin and even with a low loader on the menu.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl