VW shares first image of new all-electric dune buggy

Volkswagen is unveiling a lot of surprising electric concept vehicles to showcase their upcoming new MEB platform and now they have yet and another one: a new all-electric dune buggy.

The German automaker has been unveiling a series of ‘I.D.’ concept vehicles utilizing the new platform.

There’s the I.D., a Golf-sized vehicle, which is expected to be their first mass-market EV for the model year 2020. VW also unveiled the I.D. VIZZION sedan, the crossover all-electric I.D. CROZZ Concept, and then there’s the I.D. BUZZ electric microbus, which we’ve learned is going to be produced in Hanover in 2022.

Now they are confirming that there’s going to be the ‘ID. BUGGY’, which has been rumored before.

Despite being much different from the passenger vehicles listed above, VW says that the ‘ID. BUGGY’ will also be based on the MEB platform and it shows that “this fully electric platform can be used for more than just large-scale series production models.”

They believe that it will also “facilitate the development of low-volume niche series.”

The ‘ID. BUGGY’ concept is going to be unveiled in Geneva in March, but VW released this first two images today:

Klaus Bischoff, Head Designer at Volkswagen, commented on the upcoming vehicle:

“A buggy is more than a car. It is vibrancy and energy on four wheels. These attributes are embodied by the new ID. BUGGY, which demonstrates how a modern, non-retro interpretation of a classic can look and, more than anything else, the emotional bond that electric mobility can create,”

The company says that it is inspired by buggies built on the Beetle chassis back in the 1980s.

Electrek’s Take

VW was really talking about production with the release of these images.

While they never explicitly say that it will end up in production, it does sound like it’s a possibility, which is rare for these kinds of concepts.

That would be cool because I think these kinds of off-road vehicles are great to electrify.

You can use them in nature without the sound of a roaring engine. On top of that, electric propulsion, especially a dual motor all-wheel-drive system, which is possible with the MEB platform, is actually more than adequate for the performance needed in off-road driving.

I am curious to see the ID. BUGGY in full and its spec sheet.