ID. Buzz

Make
Volkswagen
Segment
Van

The Volkswagen bus is an icon across the world, but it has a special place in the hearts of the people who live in Hanover, Germany.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is located in Hanover, and it is the biggest employer in the region. It has produced vans, people carriers, and pickup trucks for more than 50 years.

Since 2019, the city of Hanover has celebrated the Twinkle Light Cruise. Basically, VW owners cover their cars in lights and drive around this historic city. It's the mobile version of taking the kids on a drive to see houses decorated with lights. Mini had the same idea, but it only covered one hatch in 2,000 lights.

While the parade is not limited to VW's commercial vehicles, the bus is by far the most popular. Look closely, and you'll also spot almost every version spanning back to the T1. No VW parade would be complete without the humble Beetle. Fortunately, the Hanover police are much more forgiving than the Canadians. Last year, a Tesla owner tried to get into the Christmas spirit the same way, but the cops quickly put an end to it.

VW's commercial vehicles have never been successful in the US. We missed out on most of its people carriers, not to mention the current VW Amarok. There may still be hope that the next Ranger-based Amarok is coming to the US in a few years though.

VW is, however, sending a couple of EVs our way over the coming years, one of which is the ID. Buzz. Essentially, it's the VW bus on an electric skateboard design. The design is inspired by the Type 2 bus, also present in the parade video.

We're told testing of this electric bus is currently underway and that it will offer a range of 300 miles. More than one battery option will be available, as will all-wheel drive.

While we love the old-school approach of this light festival, our favorite display remains the Rivian R1T. Last year, in a bid to ramp up some publicity before it was launched, Rivian used an R1T to power 20,000 Christmas lights from its onboard power socket.