Volkswagen has taken the covers off its latest generation T7 Transporter range including new battery electric models along with an updated Crafter large van and its electric ‘retro kombi’ ID.Buzz Cargo and the revised Caddy.
The company also gave Aussie commercial vehicle media a look at its upgraded Caddy small van in a day-long event in Sydney this week.
VW revealed that PHEV versions of the Transporter, Caddy, and its Multivan and California models will follow in 2026. This gives rival Ford a headstart in the PHEV van market with the Blue Oval launching its PHEV Transit in Melbourne last week. (See story elsewhere in Truck and Bus News)
There has been some speculation that Volkswagen has delayed its PHEV offerings in the wake of the changed tax regime here in Australia which has removed the tax advantages and incentives that the government was giving hybrids until recently. However the company offered no comment on this position.
The media event marks what is a plan for a renaissance of the Volkswagen brand in commercial vehicle markets, which has seen the German marque’s plans for increased volume and penetration into major corporate and
The event saw Volkswagen not only launch the electric version of the new generation E Transporter but also diesel version of the venerable name plate, along with the upgrades to the Crafter and Caddy and a fresh look at the ID.Buzz Cargo.
The revised commercial range presents Volkswagen with the opportunity to freshen its approach for major corporate and government fleets.
The brand is also set to mount a new assault on the extensive and lucrative ambulance market, currently dominated by Mercedes-Benz’ Sprinter, which has a doninatn position with just about every state’s ambulance fleet.
VW had wanted to mount a campaign to win more of the ambulance market before Covid but the pandemic interrupted those plans and it is now time to try again.
Volkswagen Australia’s director of commercial vehicles, Nathan Johnston said the company has had a number of strategies over the past five years and when Crafter originally launched it picked up some great market share.
“We picked up some really strong momentum, and had a lot of strong conversations and then our friend Covid hit, and that made us take a big step back, because of supply and the ability for some of these, these potential partners and fleet customers,” Johnson said.
“When the ambulance services saw a lot of the challenges facing the global supply chain, they decided to stick with what they knew.
“So now that we have a strong supply and a great product, we are back in those conversations again, which is really great, but it’s not just about being able to offer the base vehicle, the customers are looking for further solutions now and in the future,” he added.
‘We have an ambulance conversion and are looking at these opportunities, are trying to solve, not only work with them to solve some of the problems, and actually solving some of the challenges they have the now,” he said.
Supply chain issues post Covid has also affected the flow of the maker’s commercial offerings Down Under, with the pandemic resulting in the gap in supply and the reason why it is now making a concerted effort to rebuild its commercial proposition and its marketing heft.
Crafter had a quite facelift this year, which gave us a little bit of a blackout from a production perspective and with Transporter there was a bit of a blackout between the end of production of T6 and the start of production for the new platform,” said Johnson.
“Then with Caddy, there’s been some changes in terms of supply,so we haven’t had a great period and having all of our arsenal of vans all on at once, which obviously meant we had taken the foot off the accelerator.
Now we have a great opportunity, with the addition of the ID.buzz and the Cargo, to have a full commercial range with the full offering and full supply again, so it’s a hugely exciting time,” Johnson added.
Now with the dual electric van offering of both the eTransporter and the ID.Buzz Cargo VW Australia has two electric vans, similarly priced and sized to each other..
There’s little difference in the price of the eTransporter and the ID.Buzz Cargo with only a gap of about $4000. However we reckon the eTransporter witll have appeal for the pragmatic fleet operators, whie the ID.Buzz Cargo will have appeal for companies and operators looking for a quirky retro look with an electric driveline.
With the news that the there will be four different plug-in hybrid vans on the Volkswagen reckons its lineup will offers a real choice of individuality for customers.
Of course Transporter has a very loyal following with a number of key fleets so that will help VW prosecute its case. It now depends on the resources and incentives it can give its dealers to lift market share and volume across all the offerings.
At the launch the company revealed that its all-new T7 Transporter will start from $58,590 plus on-road costs for the short-wheelbase turbo-diesel variants and ranging up to $85,590 plus on-roads for the top of the range long wheelbase eTransporter.
We only had the chance to drive the eTransporter Short Wheel Base and the impressive ID.Buzz Cargo on a short loop around the southern part of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney and we will give drive impressions in the next few days, once the embargo on drive impressions is lifted. Suffice to say that both impressed with their quietness, smooth power delivery, strong torque and superb overall build quality and road manners.
