Electric Volkswagen Multivan headed our way

A van-based people-mover is scheduled to be among the first Volkswagen electric vehicles on sale in Australia as early as 2022.

The first EV to come here from Volkswagen’s commercial vehicles division is expected to be part of the next-generation T7 Transporter line-up that will also use conventional internal combustion engines and hybrid drivetrains.

Transporter-based people-movers are named Multivan (up to seven seats) and Caravelle (up to nine seats) in Australia, but it’s not known if the T7 EV will get that moniker.

A production version of Volkswagen’s I.D. Buzz Cargo delivery van concept should follow soon after, as should the larger e-Crafter.

The Buzz Cargo concept, a derivative of Volkswagen’s 21st Century, T2-inspired Kombi concept, the I.D. Buzz (pictured), broke cover at last week’s Hannover Truck Show in Germany as the latest EV concept based on Volkswagen’s MEB battery-electric architecture.

The e-Crafter was first revealed at the same show in 2016. It is retrofitted by Volkswagen partner ABT rather than new from the ground-up. ABT is also developing an e-Caddy and a T6-based e-Transporter.

However, the T7 Transporter hasn’t had any formal previews, but has been spied out testing wearing T6-generation sheetmetal.

The T6 Transporter has been on sale in Australia since 2016, but the global introduction of the new generation will start rolling out internationally as soon as 2020.

That might seem early, but T6 was more a substantial facelift of T5 than an all-new model.

The first production MEB-based EV to launch globally will be the Golf-sized I.D. hatchback, in 2019. It will also be the first to show up in Australia, in 2021.

It will be the first of a succession of VW passenger vehicle models to go on sale here as the brand’s local division plans to be a leader in the emerging segment in Australia.

But Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia director Carlos Santos made it clear that his division would be a player as well.

“For us it’s definitely an opportunity going forward. How long it takes to get there for us locally here is hard to predict as far as I am concerned.

“But I think we will have to have a product offering in that space as everyone will have. But I think our product will be very well positioned.”

Volkswagen’s Australian EV roll-out is set to have some form of formal announcement made about it within months and while there are still approvals to be achieved, Santos is confident a van will be confirmed as one of the early arrivals here.

“I believe it will, yes,” he told motoring.com.au.

“I think it will more than likely be a van/passenger-mover, so it’s more a passenger version of our vans that would be one of the earlier ones.

“I.D Buzz Cargo could be here, but I think there will be one before it.”

“I think it is probably round that 2022-23 period when we will start to see it [the first EV van in Australia].”

Santos said the early appeal of EV in the pure commercial vehicle segments would be centred on city delivery vans.

“Electric vehicles recharge by start-stop driving; braking and moving and braking and moving. So, they [VW] are pretty positive about inner-city commercial applications.

“Long-haul electric is hard, particularly in Australia, so I don’t see any of that stuff moving to electric any time soon.”

Santos said there had already been some expressions of interest from fleets to about future Volkswagen EV offerings, notably the e-Crafter.

Volkswagen has committed to offering 20 EVs globally by 2025, all of which will eventually be offered to Australia.