VW electric camper gets go-ahead

An all-electric camper concept from Volkswagen has been given the go ahead to begin production, Reuters reports. The Volkswagen Bulli premiered at the Detroit Automotive show in January as a concept, and in the time since, Volkswagen has been considering whether or not to bring the vehicle to market. Volkswagen brand chief Herbert Diess says feedback he has received suggests now is the time. "After the presentations at the global motor shows in Detroit and Geneva, we received a large number of letters and emails from customers who said, 'please build this car'," Diess said in a statement. The van is a modification of Volkswagen’s well known Microbus camper van, and will be one of the 30 electric models the company plans to have in production by 2025. The electric van will go on sale in 2022 under the name ID Buzz, and VW said it will target customers in North America, Europe and China. The company also plans to build a cargo version of the van. The New Zealand government is encouraging the adoption of fully electric vehicles with RUC exemptions and other incentives. While private ownership of EVs in New Zealand is higher than that of commercial ownership, commercial ownership is growing. At present there is only one EV van on the New Zealand market available new, the Nissan E-NV200.