New VW ID.Buzz bus failing already in U.S.? Many Red flags

Is the new VW ID.Buzz failing already in the U.S.? Slow sales and massive resale value drops are throwing up red flags already.

The VW ID.Buzz made its long-wheel base debut in 2024 to much acclaim with its unique nostalgic design of the classic Volkswagen Microbus, roomy interior, advanced technology and DC fast-charging capability and zip with a dual-motor option of 335 horsepower and up to 234 miles of range.

New VW ID. Buzz slow sales so far

U.S. sales for the VW ID.Buzz have been anything but spectacular with VW selling only 1,162 ID.Buzz bus vans in 2024 likely due to limited supply. Globally they sold better with 29,990 vehicles.

For the first quarter of 2025, sales were better with 1,901 buses sold, yet the second quarter sales plummeted to just 564 buses sold. However, sales were affected by a 2-month long stop sale due to the recall for a rear-seat width issue.

Cars.com lists 1,646 new ID.Buzz buses for sale across the country at the time of this article.

Big drop in resale value

Since the start of the year, there have been two VW ID.Buzz vans sold on BringATrailer.com and both have seen a larger than average drop in resale value. BringATrailer.com is a new or used vehicle auction website well known among car enthusiasts.

In February 7, 2025, a 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz 1st Edition 4Motion in Silver was sold for $66,000. It had just 172 miles on it, a clean CarFax report and a MSRP price of $72,900. That’s a loss of $6,900 or 10% on what is essentially a brand new vehicle with delivery miles.

Then on July 14, 2025, a green 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz 1st Edition 4Motion sold for $61,500. This one had 398 miles on it, a dual motor setup, clean CarFax and it was a one-owner vehicle from Arizona. The MSRP on this one was $72,385. That’s a $10,885 drop in resale value or 17% hit.

New vehicles, on average, depreciate 30% over 2 years, according to KBB.com with an annual mileage driven of 12,000 miles.

Limited range a concern

One of the criticisms of the VW.ID Buzz has been the limited range for the U.S. market of 234 miles for the single rear-motor or 231 miles for the dual rear-motor model.

In Europe, this range is acceptable with driving distances typically shorter.

However, in the U.S., the country is much larger and distances between cities and destinations is much greater. For a vehicle designed to be a road-trip vehicle, the range is considered very inadequate for this market.

Many people think VW should have put a V-6 engine in the van and that would have done better in the U.S. market.

Price is too high?

Another criticism is the price point. The starting MSRP is $59,995 and the examples in the resale section are above $70,000.

A three-row Tesla Model Y is less than $50,000 and has 327 miles of range. Many three-row gasoline SUVs are in the $30-40k range.

A Toyota Sienna minivan starts at less than $40,000 and has 36 MPG with a hybrid powertrain.

It is hard to justify spending more money for the VW.ID Buzz and its nostalgia looks with less capability.

No EV Tax Credit and future tariffs

The final issue for the VW ID.Buzz in the U.S. is no Federal EV tax credit and tariffs.

While the Federal EV tax credit is going away on September 30, 2025, the VW ID. Buzz didn’t qualify for it anyway which hurt sales.

The $7,500 tax credit is a big buying reason for EVs and without it consumers are less compelled to buy them.

Why doesn’t it qualify? The VW ID.Buzz is built in Germany and the tax credit only applies to EVs built in the U.S.

Also, the U.S. announced it is considering a 30% tariff on EU produced goods coming from countries like Germany. This would raise the VW ID.Buzz price from $59,995 by $17,998 if VW just simply applied the tariff hike directly to the vehicle.