VWN confirms T6.1 successor with electric drive
As the German manufacturer has now officially confirmed, the completely newly developed Transporter and its shuttle variant Caravelle will not only be available as a diesel and plug-in hybrid, but also as a battery-electric transporter van and e-Caravelle. The portfolio of the new edition will include a panel van in two different lengths and heights, an estate, a platform van with crew cab and the Caravelle.
Pre-sales of the new Transporter in Germany will begin in 2023. With this in mind, VW Commercial Vehicles will be announcing the specifications shortly. As reported, the new VW Transporter will share technology with the Ford Transit Custom and its electric offshoot, the E-Transit Custom, and will also be produced in Kocaeli, Turkey. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Should VWN adopt the drive technology of the E-Transit Custom 1:1, VW customers would have the choice between a motor with 100 kW and one with 160 kW – as Ford has announced for its electric van. The necessary energy is supplied by a 400-volt battery with a usable energy content of 74 kWh, which should enable a WLTP range of up to 380 kilometres. The battery can be charged from 15 to 80 per cent in 41 minutes at a DC charging point with up to 125 kW – an 11 kW onboard charger is installed on the AC side.
In the panel van version, the new E-Transit Custom offers a load volume of between 5.8 and 9.0 cubic meters and a load compartment length of up to 3.45 meters. The payload is up to 1,100 kilograms.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the VW models will also have these key data and offer features such as the 230-volt sockets in the interior and load compartment. In the passenger car models, where Ford’s Explorer E-SUV is based on Volkswagen’s MEB, the technical data is known to differ from the VW model.
The only clear thing is that the Ford cooperation is a temporary collaboration for VWN: a few days ago, brand boss Carsten Intra announced that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is developing its own electric platform and intends to convert all of its vans to battery-electric drives on this basis from 2028. The first representative of the new “Space” electric family will be the large Crafter van.
VWN still has the T6.1 in its range, even though the T7 generation and the ID. Buzz have been built in parallel for some time. The background to this is the platform and the technical data that are possible with it: The T7 (previously known as the Multivan) is based on the MQB passenger car platform in order to better serve the wishes of private customers. The electric ID. Buzz is also based on a passenger car platform with the MEB and even as the ID. Buzz Cargo only offers a payload of around 550 kilograms. The T6.1 therefore remains in the range with a payload of around one tonne for tradesmen, transport services or the California camper conversion.
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