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A while back, electric cars and campervans felt like some kind of futuristic pipedream… but now more and more of us are making the switch! In fact - Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates that electric vehicles will account for 54% of global new car sales by 2040...
But what about campervans? Some of you might remember the Hillside Leisure Dalbury-E when it launched back in 2014. Since then, Fiat, Nissan, Mercedes and our beloved Volkswagen have all released their own hybrid and electric vans. Even Tesla have tried to get in on the action– although it’s more of a car with a bed than a camper!
VW confirmed this year that they’ll be releasing several new electric vehicles over the next few years.
First is the ABT e-Transporter – a zero-emission version of our much-loved van. The e-Transporter will come with underfloor battery giving you maximum room, and buyers will get the choice of one or two batteries. The ABT e-Transporter should be here this year and we’re very excited to see it!
Also due for release is the VW e-Crafter – an electric van designed so that urban delivery companies can keep operating in low or zero-emission zones.
Next is the ID. Buzz - a relaunch of the Microbus minivan as a heavily stylised electric model. VW have said that it will be smaller than a full-sized Cali and will ‘incorporate many design ideas from the [ID. Buzz] concept car’. It will also feature variable seating, interactive connectivity and highly automated driving. The ID. Buzz campervan was first shown at the Detroit Auto Show in 2017 and is due for release around 2022 along with two other futuristic designs – the I.D. Vizzion and the I.D Buzz Cargo Van.
There’s also been some chatter about the Type 20 – an electric version of the 1962 Type 2 Microbus.
Some VW fans have toyed with the idea of converting their existing vans to electric, but this is a huge project and it will cost a lot to replace things like batteries, cabling etc. There are some companies out there like EDub Conversions, who offer to do the conversion for you but again, it’s whether you can justify the cost…
Whilst it’s still early days, some of the reviews for the electric VW campervans have been quite positive – with many saying that the lower running costs and reduced service charges should compensate for the initial cost. In terms of how they drive and what true VW fans think, we’ll have to wait a bit longer but for now, you can register for updates on the electric vans over on the VW website.