New electric VW Transporter makes us yearn for an EV California campervan

I’m going to shoot straight with you: I don’t absolutely perceive Volkswagen’s business van lineup — it’s dizzyingly difficult. In the present day, VW announced the following technology of its business Transporter household will introduce an all-electric possibility in panel van, Kombi (twin goal), dropside, and Caravelle (passenger) layouts.

That is all effectively and good, and it feels like these vans will all be based mostly on a shared electrical drivetrain platform with the Ford E-Transit Custom family. Which means a 74kWh battery good for round 230 miles of vary and a most output of round 217 hp. Admittedly, these specs aren’t going to blow anybody’s thoughts. It’s a utility van, and VW has a strong business car enterprise to help.

If you wish to try to wrap your head round what VW calls the “Bulli” lineup: The T7 technology of VW mid-size vans will make the most of three totally different car platforms (MQB for the buyer Multivan, MEB for the ID.Buzz, and Transit Customized for the business Transporter).

That is the place my data of economic vans just about ends.

What I do find out about VW vans is that VW indefinitely delayed the California campervan model of the ID.Buzz earlier this yr, and that was a Very Unhappy piece of reports. VW cited extra weight as an intractable difficulty. (Particularly, that European driver’s license restrictions have been guilty: European Class B licenses enable for operation of autos as much as 3500 kg, however modifications are under consideration to soon raise this limit to 4250 kg, so this felt like a nothingburger.) To me, the actual difficulty right here was seemingly payload — VW cited battery weight as a limiting think about its determination to delay the California conversion for the Buzz, a car which has a designed payload capability of simply over 1,200 kilos (550 kg) within the Buzz Cargo configuration.

With the brand new Transporter EV variants, VW could have an electrical van platform with as much as double the carrying capability of ID.Buzz. The Ford E-Transit Customized is rated for over 2400 kilos (1100 kg) of cargo — permitting much more flexibility as a conversion platform. Whereas the small-ish battery wouldn’t make it very best for lengthy journeys, there’s at the least the burden headroom to work with right here for extra bold complete conversion layouts. Notably, VW has already teased a concept version of the T7 Multivan as a California campervan. However this idea was a PHEV with a 13 kWh battery, and VW doesn’t provide the Multivan in an all-electric configuration.

Does it appear seemingly VW will use this new Transporter configuration of the T7 for a California conversion on the buyer facet of its enterprise? I imply, in all probability not? However I can dream. Taking off my rose-colored glasses, it appears we received’t see the VW California EV imaginative and prescient change into a actuality for years. VW plans to move to its personal devoted EV van platform beginning in 2028, so this sharing state of affairs with Ford is probably going meant as a holdover to offer VW prospects a medium-duty EV van possibility earlier than the in-house electrified fashions launch later within the decade.