Posted on 10/23/2025 7:49:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
It seems Volkswagen is having a tough time selling its latest passenger vans, the ID. Buzz and Multivan. According to German media, VW's historic Hanover plant, the home of the iconic Microbus, has been paused for the period October 20-24.
A company spokesperson told Germany's DPA press agency that the pause will allow VW to adapt production to “changed market conditions.” This follows the automaker already extending its summer shutdown at the plant by an extra week and reducing hours during September.
The spokesperson added that VW expects the current “intense competition” in the market for both electric vehicles and light commercial vans to continue in the coming months and is actively taking measures to help increase demand for the ID. Buzz and Multivan. Automotive News reported that these measures include increased marketing efforts and offering incentives.
ID. Buzz Falls Well Below Expectations
The fully electric ID. Buzz is the spiritual successor to the Microbus of the 1960s and 1970s, and VW was hopeful it would appeal to both older buyers seeking nostalgia and younger buyers looking for a fun, retro alternative to an SUV. However, a delayed launch, a starting price north of $60,000 in the US, and an underwhelming maximum range of just 234 miles meant it failed to ignite the market. Coupled with a slower-than-expected uptake of EVs, it’s easy to see why sales aren't meeting VW's expectations.
2025 VW ID Buzz US (2) Volkswagen Global sales of the ID. Buzz, including both passenger and commercial versions, were less than 30,000 units in 2024, with the US total coming in at only 1,162 units, although the electric van was only introduced midway through the year here. Sales in 2025 are expected to improve but not significantly.
Production capacity at the Hanover plant is around 130,000 vehicles annually, but demand for VW's other van built at the site, the Multivan, is also well below expectations. The Multivan is VW's passenger van available with internal-combustion engine and plug-in hybrid powertrain options. It is based on Volkswagen Group's MQB platform, shared with vehicles like the Golf and Atlas, but isn't sold in the US. While using the car-like MQB platform improved ride and comfort, the storage area isn't as flexible for upfitting, and payload and towing limits are lower than in the previous generation.
VW Transporter No Longer Built in Hannover Volkswagen Transporter T7 Green Front Angled View VanFleetWorld Traditionally, VW's Transporter commercial van and Multivan passenger van were based on the same dedicated van platform, allowing both models to share a robust chassis, high load capacity, and flexible interior layouts, as well as a production line. This common architecture enabled VW to efficiently serve both commercial and private buyers while maintaining the durability and versatility that made the Transporter and Multivan icons in their respective segments.
For the latest generation, the Transporter was co-developed with Ford’s Transit Custom to reduce costs. Its production was also moved to a Ford plant in Türkiye. VW continued to sell the previous-generation Transporter built in Hannover alongside the new model but ended production of the older van in 2024.
All electric, 60,000? And the blockhead Germans are amazed that it’s not selling?
Ok
That's a hard pass.
Put a small diesel in it, strip out the screens and any electrics not strictly critical... ensure that there are no subscription services to run the radio, etc..
And watch it sell.
I had a 68 van for a few years until a tree blew down on it, and then a 69 van for about 15 years. With some plywood and a foam pad in the back, they were great for traveling, and I even lived in the 68 for about five months one year. Pretty slow on the highway, though, especially uphill. On some of those long Nevada straightaways, I felt like lashing the wheel, putting a cinder block on the gas pedal, and taking a nap in back.
These days if you left a 69 van for an 11-day excursion, it’d be long gone when you got back to the trailhead.
If it doesn’t have that weird rattly lawnmower engine sound is it really a VW?
I saw one the other day. Fugly.
Yep, if you’re not sitting over the front wheels, it ain’t a VW bus. Looks like it doesn’t have much ground clearance either, which was a good thing about the old ones. You could go all sorts of places if it wasn’t too steep, and you could do just about anything underneath without having to jack it up. My 69 broke a clutch cable every year or so; fortunately it was really easy to drive those things without the clutch.
With the pea shooter exhaust pipes.
“”””On some of those long Nevada straightaways, I felt like lashing the wheel, putting a cinder block on the gas pedal, and taking a nap in back.””””
You had to get in the zone for VW van travel, music helped, I had my van in the 1980s.
Put a V-6 twin turbo and all wheel drive, I would be interested.
Neither of my vans had a working radio, but I’d carry a small boombox and lots of cassettes. I also taught myself to read while driving (only on straight roads with practically no traffic). That flat steering wheel was a good book rest.
Put ICE druvetrains in and they’ll sell like hotcakes
If they put an ICE in it would sell like hotcakes!
I had a van, engine went, so put in a Super Beetle motor.
That thing was FAST.
I saw one as well ...
Looked like a Tesla Truck.
Yuck Sparky.
Music could help keep one from pondering how a head on collision would look for a VW van of the time.
I live in raleigh where our millions of h1bs love evs. To date I’ve only seen 1.
That’s all I’ve seen here on the Gulf Coast.
And it was on the VW dealer’s lot...........
I’ve seen that and it wasn’t pretty. I always figured I’d lose my legs in a crash with a car but might survive since I was sitting up higher than most cars. For crashes involving large trucks, pickups, vans, or higher speeds, it’d likely be different.
Any interest in a VW van was gone about 30 years ago, when I stopped to help some people after a multi-car accident. Guy in the driver’s seat of a classic VW van was holding his bleeding wife’s head. Windshield was gone. She was in the front passenger seat, her feet trapped in the crushed metal. Her blood was dripping outside the van.
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