The new electric VW Kombi

The VW 'ID Buzz', alias 'The New Kombi'.  Source: Green Car Reports

After the massive diesel-testing scandal ("Dieselgate") VW entered full-on PR mode, promising it would do better, and that it would start switching its production to EVs.  Nearly 3 years later, and it's becoming clear that they really meant it--new humongous battery orders, and new "concept" models.  The one I like most is the replacement for the VW Kombi, an iconic vehicle from my youth.  And now, VW has announced that the new EV range will also be produced in Germany as well as the US, to ensure that demand can be satisfied, and to tweak the range for US tastes.  The new Kombi will go on sale in 2022.   Despite this late roll-out, it does look as if VW is genuinely making the shift to EVs.   It's not at all clear that the other large legacy car makers are, though Jaguar and Volvo also appear to be switching.

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.

"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.  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.

[Read more here]

One thing's for sure.  The new Kombi, with the powerful torque from an electric motor,  will have much better speed uphill than the old one!