As you may have learned from our reveal post, the VW ID. Buzz will come in a variety of forms, including the ID. Buzz Cargo commercial version. But the U.S. is only getting the long-wheelbase three-row variant. There hasn’t been a specific reason given for why the short passenger van isn’t coming here, though we expect VW has data showing the three-row makes more sense. As for why we’re not getting the panel van, there’s a really simple explanation that comes down to two words: Chicken Tax.
The Chicken Tax is the 25% tariff levied on vehicles classified as light trucks that are built outside the United States. As a VW PR representative told us, the Buzz Cargo would fall into that category as a commercial van, and the fact that all Buzz models will be built at VW’s plant in Hannover, Germany. Obviously, this tariff would make the Buzz Cargo either prohibitively expensive to buy, or completely unprofitable. Some automakers have tried some clever things to try to bypass this tariff, but doing so can attract unwanted attention from the government.
We imagine there could be other complicating factors, too. Volkswagen would need a more robust commercial vehicle sales support system to rival established players such as Ford, Stellantis and General Motors. The Buzz Cargo would also be quite small, and while that’s a benefit in Europe, the U.S. isn’t as space restricted. As such, many companies have no qualms purchasing much larger vans from the aforementioned automakers. Then, there’s the fact that VW only plans to sell the long-wheelbase Buzz here, and the Cargo is based on the short-wheelbase model.
So, as cool as it would be to have the bare-bones business Buzz, here, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. And really, if you want one badly enough, you could probably strip down the upcoming passenger Buzz for a funky cargo hauler.
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Source: www.autoblog.com