Volkswagen ID Buzz and ID Crozz concept, 2017 Los Angeles auto show
Enlarge Photo
Volkswagen plans to build two of its upcoming electric cars in the United States.
VW’s North American CEO, Hinrich Woebcken, told British magazine Autocar that the models will be built in the United States and sold domestically.
Presumably this means the ID Crozz electric crossover SUV and the ID Buzz, the long-awaited successor to the VW Microbus, will be built at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee factory.
VW builds the Passat and Atlas in Chattanooga.
DON’T MISS: Volkswagen ID Crozz electric SUV to launch in US in 2020
“For strong product momentum, they need to be produced in the USA,” he said. “It’s not possible to come into a high-volume scenario with imported cars. We want to localize electric mobility in the U.S.”
After years of selling niche products imported from Germany that were too expensive and too small to compete with big sellers in the U.S., VW began designing separate models for the U.S. market and building them in Tennessee.
The Passat, built in Tennessee for sale in the U.S. and China, is significantly larger than the Passat sold in Europe. The Atlas was designed specifically for the U.S. as the largest SUV VW has ever made. It is now sold in Britain, too.
DON’T MISS: Volkswagen ID Buzz drive: electric VW bus offers unique EV concept
The company has had considerably more success selling the Passat and Atlas here since it designed the cars specifically for the U.S. Building them here makes it cost-effective, as well.
Now it seems VW plans to do the same for its electric vehicles. Building dedicated versions in the U.S. could allow VW to stretch the ID Crozz and ID Buzz to give them more room inside for American buyers, for example, though Woebcken did not specify how the U.S. models would be different.
The electric VW ID Crozz crossover vehicle is due out next year. Bus fans will have to wait until 2022 for the ID Buzz.
