Keogh discussed driving European-spec ID Buzz cars in Austin this month, when he was accompanied by Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess, and the two executives witnessed firsthand the local reaction. VW passenger car CEO Ralf Brandstaetter stated last week that the business expects to sell 120,000 ID Buzz models every year.
“Cars like these do the most critical task. Business is good, generating money is good, but reestablishing the brand’s popularity and affection is what we’re after, and this is what this is doing “As Keogh said. “Being down in Austin with this car,” he remarked, was the pinnacle of his three-year tenure as CEO of Volkswagen of America. “Driving around and practically seeing people leap in front of the automobile; that’s incredible.”
Keogh was asked March 10 during a presentation to dealers assembled in Las Vegas for the NADA Show about lessons learned from the company’s introduction of the ID4 last year that he would apply to the launch of the ID Buzz.
To begin, he stated, “I would have pushed harder and sooner to localise the automobile.” He stated at the time that demand for the ID4 was more than anticipated across the country, despite a dearth of developed charging infrastructure in many locations.
Keogh confirmed to Automotive News following his lecture that ID Buzz sales volumes in the United States will likely be less than 100,000 yearly – a threshold that traditionally has allowed manufacturers to achieve sufficient scale to save money on production.
“Honestly, I don’t see the ID Buzz being localised,” Keogh said at the time, “but the sky is the limit, and we’re pleased.”
That, however, altered little on Monday.
Keogh said he got a “four-page email” from a tiny dealer in the United States, who may have anticipated selling one or two ID Buzz models when reservations for the minivan officially opened later this year. The minivan is not projected to arrive in the United States until 2024. The salesman informed Keogh that he “had 75 reservations; each person paid down$500,” in an ad hoc reservation system operated by the dealer for the ID Buzz’s US version, which hasn’t even been demonstrated yet.
Keogh expressed surprise.
“To be a little sarcastic, [a new microbus] is a vehicle we’ve been considering in some form or another for over two decades,” Keogh said. However, the ID Buzz blends “vibrant nostalgia” with “an totally new approach to be a cool Dad, a cool family, and a cool everything,” and given the company’s current demand, “we may need to react appropriately,” by localising manufacturing to guarantee the brand can meet demand in North America.