2019 VW ID Buggy Concept wants to take electric cars to the beach, but not with a VW badge

TopSpeed

By Andrei Nedelea

Published Mar 5, 2019

VW debuts all-electric ID Buggy concept at the 2019 Geneva motor show

The term beach buggy may be somewhat generic, yet it actually refers to VW Beetle-based buggies that exploded in popularity in the 1960s. Now VW wants to revive that sun-loving spirit with its new two-seater ID Buggy Concept that was just revealed at the 2019 Geneva motor show.

Now don’t go thinking that VW is previewing a production model with this concept. It isn’t. The idea behind it is to announce the fact that the German giant wants to start selling its electrification-ready MEB platform to other companies and the ID Buggy concept serves to show what could be achieved using this architecture.

According to Herbert Diess, VW CEO, “MEB is to establish itself as the standard for e-mobility. Based on the MEB, we will make individual mobility CO2-neutral, safe, comfortable and accessible to as many people as possible. Because the MEB even makes the cost-efficient production of emotional small-series vehicles like the ID Buggy possible.”

ID Buggy concept draws juice from a 62 kWh battery pack. And while it may be a two-seater, it can easily be converted into a four-seater and an extra motor can be added to power the front axle and effectively double its power (as well as increase traction).

But even if VW has announced no version of this ID Buggy will make it into production, it does open the door for other companies to buy the platform and make their own VW-based all-electric buggies that harken back to the original Meyers Manx, the buggy that started this whole craze in California, back in 1964.

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