VW's Van Strategy

[Winston Rumfoord]

Starting to like the look of the Grand California 600, hoping VW will bring the 600 Dune special edition to the UK as it has 4 motion.

Me too. My worry with the GC600 is the lack payload. Suspect we just couldn’t bring bikes, paddle board and have the options we’d want to stay under 3.5tn (wouldn’t want to uprate).

 

[WelshGas]

Me too. My worry with the GC600 is the lack payload. Suspect we just couldn’t bring bikes, paddle board and have the options we’d want to stay under 3.5tn (wouldn’t want to uprate).

Isn’t that the problem VW and others face.
In order to build a family Campervan ( 2 adults 2 children ) for the future with car like dimensions H 2m x W 2m x L 5m and with a MGW of less than 3.5 Tons with an acceptable payload is well nigh impossible without some significant leap forward In battery technology.
1. There is an advance in battery technology , increased power density and decreased battery weight, soon.
2. The vehicle and regulatory weight limits are increased for EV vehicles, including Driving Licence conditions, to compensate for the EV battery weight.

The Driving Licence weight conditions for EV vehicles have been addressed in the UK but no manufacturer seems to have adjusted their model range accordingly.

In Great Britain, the weight limit for electric and hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles is now 4,250kg (Maximum Authorised Mass) for a standard Category B driving licence, an increase from the 3,500kg limit for petrol and diesel vehicles
. This change, which took effect on June 10, 2025, allows drivers to operate a wider range of larger electric vans and minibuses without needing a special licence. The increased allowance accounts for the heavier batteries in electric vehicles, aiming to remove barriers to EV adoption by making them more comparable in size and capability to their combustion-engine counterparts.

 

[stoobthealien]

Isn’t that the problem VW and others face.
In order to build a family Campervan ( 2 adults 2 children ) for the future with car like dimensions H 2m x W 2m x L 5m and with a MGW of less than 3.5 Tons with an acceptable payload is well nigh impossible without some significant leap forward In battery technology.
1. There is an advance in battery technology , increased power density and decreased battery weight, soon.
2. The vehicle and regulatory weight limits are increased for EV vehicles, including Driving Licence conditions, to compensate for the EV battery weight.

The Driving Licence weight conditions for EV vehicles have been addressed in the UK but no manufacturer seems to have adjusted their model range accordingly.

In Great Britain, the weight limit for electric and hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles is now 4,250kg (Maximum Authorised Mass) for a standard Category B driving licence, an increase from the 3,500kg limit for petrol and diesel vehicles
. This change, which took effect on June 10, 2025, allows drivers to operate a wider range of larger electric vans and minibuses without needing a special licence. The increased allowance accounts for the heavier batteries in electric vehicles, aiming to remove barriers to EV adoption by making them more comparable in size and capability to their combustion-engine counterparts.

To be fair that change was pretty recent, I imagine it'll take years for it to trickle down into the designs

 

[sticky1]

Hey T7 haters, we’ve now got celebrity endorsement……. you’ll particularly like the bit where he shows all of the kitchen storage taken up with an electric whisk!

 

[Corradobrit]

Hey T7 haters, we’ve now got celebrity endorsement……. you’ll particularly like the bit where he shows all of the kitchen storage taken up with an electric whisk!

You know things are bad when the numpty-endorsement brigade are unleashed.At least they didn't wheel out Ewan McGregor.....again

 

[Mansfieldman750]

According to Google, the European Parliament has approved the weight increase to 4,250kg and now down to the individual member countries to make it law in each country.
Come on VW, get on with it. Buzz California, decent kitchen, enough storage, I’ll have one.

 

[Winston Rumfoord]

Isn’t that the problem VW and others face.
In order to build a family Campervan ( 2 adults 2 children ) for the future with car like dimensions H 2m x W 2m x L 5m and with a MGW of less than 3.5 Tons with an acceptable payload is well nigh impossible without some significant leap forward In battery technology.
1. There is an advance in battery technology , increased power density and decreased battery weight, soon.
2. The vehicle and regulatory weight limits are increased for EV vehicles, including Driving Licence conditions, to compensate for the EV battery weight.

The Driving Licence weight conditions for EV vehicles have been addressed in the UK but no manufacturer seems to have adjusted their model range accordingly.

In Great Britain, the weight limit for electric and hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles is now 4,250kg (Maximum Authorised Mass) for a standard Category B driving licence, an increase from the 3,500kg limit for petrol and diesel vehicles
. This change, which took effect on June 10, 2025, allows drivers to operate a wider range of larger electric vans and minibuses without needing a special licence. The increased allowance accounts for the heavier batteries in electric vehicles, aiming to remove barriers to EV adoption by making them more comparable in size and capability to their combustion-engine counterparts.

Hadn’t thought about future challenges but interesting to read. I think just in general the 4 berth GC600 appears to have a particular small payload compared to other similar-ish options but I need to do more research. It got me wondering whether the overcab bed is significantly heavier than a pop top solution.

 

[WelshGas]

Hadn’t thought about future challenges but interesting to read. I think just in general the 4 berth GC600 appears to have a particular small payload compared to other similar-ish options but I need to do more research. It got me wondering whether the overcab bed is significantly heavier than a pop top solution.

I believe it can be up-plated, literally a paper exercise costing about £250, if you have the correct Liscence type.

 

[Winston Rumfoord]

I believe it can be up-plated, literally a paper exercise costing about £250, if you have the correct Liscence type.

Me and my partner are both young whipper snappers - obtaining a C1 license seemed burdensome when we could just be sitting in a cafe drinking flat whites and eating avocados on toast

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

I believe it can be up-plated, literally a paper exercise costing about £250, if you have the correct Liscence type.

You could recoup the £250 up plate charge in less than a couple of years of road fund licence savings. Lots of "young ladies" get C1 licences for their horseboxes, a 1 week intensive course is best and opens up so many possibilities,

 

[FivetonesCali]

So, to summarise, VW are a bit lost on the van front. The MEB Buzz is a bit old hat, the Transporter is a transit and the multivan/cali has no end of problems. MQB is also super dated.

Not impossible that like the small EV strategy VW could pull heavily from these guys as they’ve invested heavily. Even adopting the actual platform.

EXCLUSIVE: Rivian's radical EVs are launching in the UK! | Autocar

American firm created the Model Y-rivalling R2 SUV with Europe in mind

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[Ch1pbutty]

So, to summarise, VW are a bit lost on the van front. The MEB Buzz is a bit old hat, the Transporter is a transit and the multivan/cali has no end of problems. MQB is also super dated.

Not impossible that like the small EV strategy VW could pull heavily from these guys as they’ve invested heavily. Even adopting the actual platform.

EXCLUSIVE: Rivian's radical EVs are launching in the UK! | Autocar

American firm created the Model Y-rivalling R2 SUV with Europe in mind

www.autocar.co.uk

Rivian have been struggling since 2022.

Would rather back an established brand that already has EV’s on UK roads such as Tesla / Ford.

 

[sticky1]

So, to summarise, VW are a bit lost on the van front. The MEB Buzz is a bit old hat, the Transporter is a transit and the multivan/cali has no end of problems. MQB is also super dated.

Not impossible that like the small EV strategy VW could pull heavily from these guys as they’ve invested heavily. Even adopting the actual platform.

EXCLUSIVE: Rivian's radical EVs are launching in the UK! | Autocar

American firm created the Model Y-rivalling R2 SUV with Europe in mind

www.autocar.co.uk

MQB - super dated? I thought the entire automotive industry was moving to modular platforms. Certainly the south asian manufacturers have all moved that direction.

Rivian have recalled 25,000 vehicles this year, you might claim the T7 is on that trajectory but I’m not sure it would be an upgrade.

I’m convinced VW deliberately stepped away from the Transporter sized market partly because of competition, there are so many fantastic aftermarket converters of vans in this category who offer warranty and an amazing variety of layouts.

I think the T7 multivan is a genius move into the minivan space and away from the competition.

I agree with many of the comments from people who want the next size up, I had one and deliberately downsized, I disagree about many of the storage comments as I think the T7 can store similar volumes to previous vans, it’s just distributed differently.

It’s a very different vehicle but brilliant in its execution, it has its foibles but that’s what makes it a VW, they’ve all got their own character.

 

[FivetonesCali]

Rivian have been struggling since 2022.

Would rather back an established brand that already has EV’s on UK roads such as Tesla / Ford.

VW have invested in them since then. Like Scout they’re part of the group now.

The MEB-Evo is a combo of rivian and cariad digital tech by the looks of it.

 

[FivetonesCali]

MQB - super dated? I thought the entire automotive industry was moving to modular platforms. Certainly the south asian manufacturers have all moved that direction.

Naturally my post was going to spike the discussion

MQB is 13 years old. The modular platform is industry standard now, there’s no moving towards, we’ve been there for a while. It’s a legacy platform at this stage.

Regardless VW now have a rep for poor HCI and flaky software (thanks to Cariad and the loss of controls), let’s hope that changes! The Multivan/Cali feedback on here has done nothing to convince me it has yet.