Electric Volkswagen Kombi is produced in a 1956 factory – 03/25/2023 – Market

Self-driving carts move parts around Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle plant in Hanover. Guided by sensors, they don’t need operators and stop if someone crosses their path. They are also electric, as well as the iD. Buzz produced there.

The electric Kombi house has been standing for 67 years and is a symbol of post-war German reconstruction. Operations began in March 1956 and continue to this day. Over 10 million vehicles have been assembled since then.

Christian Buhlmann, responsible for the automaker’s communication area, explains that all generations of the van were produced there — Brazil only knew the first two. He refers to the vehicle as Bulli, its name in the country of origin. It is a combination of the words “bus” and “lieferwagen” (delivery car in German).

Of the original factory, only the walls and history remain. ID. Buzz shares space with two other Volkswagen vans, but it is the electric version that draws attention on the assembly lines. “It’s the most emotional vehicle in the iD family,” says Buhlmann.

The appeal of the futuristic Kombi made production double this year. Around 200 units are assembled per day, in a highly robotized process. Even the plastic part of the panel, which receives the instruments and the multimedia center, is fixed by means of electronic arms.

The body of the iD. Buzz comes on a treadmill. Next to it is the row of panels, which also move in a synchronized dance. The robot arm lifts the component and directs it into the cabin, which does not yet have doors. The part is fitted and screwed without human intervention.

Workers make fine adjustments and work on programming the machines. In this way, the risk of accidents is minimized.

Fitting the battery is also automated, and it couldn’t be any other way. The set weighs 700 kilograms and stores enough energy for the electric Kombi to travel around 400 kilometers.

But the robots are not able to meet the global demand for the model, especially if it has a two-color body. This assembly phase is a lot of work, you have to repeat the painting process.

The lead time to delivery, which is estimated at one year for the monochromatic options, reaches 18 months for the “skirt-and-blouse” version. There are more than 20,000 orders pending, and it’s not a cheap vehicle. In Germany, iD Buzz for passengers costs the equivalent of BRL 360,000.

Brazil is in that queue, and can benefit from China’s lack of interest. Buhlmann says that the electric Kombi did not excite there. In addition to the model not having an emotional appeal in that market, the vans are seen as purely commercial vehicles.

The executive also says that, in the current price range, the Chinese have a predilection for luxury SUVs. And neither does iD. Buzz will escape this wave.

One of the options that should hit the market soon is the GTX, with four-wheel drive. It will be the electrified revival of the Kombi Syncro, a third-generation model that had off-road appeal. This version did not arrive in Brazil.

The journalist traveled at the invitation of the Volkswagen Group