There is a lot of discussion about electric mobility and the expansion of charging infrastructure. And there is someone who wants to prove that electric vehicles cannot just get anywhere but can even travel the world: eight-time Guinness World Record holder Rainer Zietlow has set off on precisely this mission today, travelling in an ID. Buzz1. Starting point: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, the customer centre at the VW Bus plant.
A project like no other. The 55-year-old from Mannheim wants to drive through 75 countries with his team. On its own website www.idbuzz-worldtour.com, those interested can find the current location as well as reports on previous sections of the route. The tour will take Zietlow to New Zealand on the eastern part of the route, and then to Vancouver in Canada on the western part. Wherever there are roads, the team will make the record-breaking road trip on the vehicle’s own four wheels, with only the ship passages and necessary interruptions for customs clearance as breaks. The ID. Buzz world tour will take more than eight months.
“With the 86 kWh battery in the ID. Buzz, we can achieve a range of more than 400 kilometres per charge,” Zietlow explains, “so I can also cover stages through sparsely populated sections of the route.” His ID. Buzz corresponds to the production version but has an additional on-board-charger so that it can take on high-voltage alternating current (AC, up to 125A) and convert it into direct current (DC) wherever there is no quick charger or a different standard for DC charging. Zietlow doesn’t lack experience: “I’ve travelled to more than 110 countries so far and have already made it to Qatar with my ID. Buzz predecessor,” reminisces the explorer from Mannheim, Germany. He has taken around a year to prepare for the current tour: “I am not a company driver, I drive on my own account and at my own risk, but supported by my partners.”
This also includes Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as the manufacturer of the ID. Buzz. “We are very impressed that Rainer has the courage and expertise to take on a world tour like this in our electric vehicle,” says Lars Krause, member of the Brand Board of Management at the start in Hanover. “I travel a lot of long distances in the ID. Buzz myself and can report that the topic of charging is no longer a problem, at least in Europe. With his tour, Rainer’s team will certainly inspire many people to switch to an all-electric vehicle.”
The spare parts supply for the ID. Buzz is also secured in case of an emergency: the model has now been introduced in many countries that Rainer Zietlow will cross, including Indonesia and Australia, Taiwan and Japan, the USA and Canada.
1) The ID. Buzz Pro long wheelbase: Combined consumption 21.0–19.5 kWh/100 km • CO₂ emissions combined 0 g/km • CO₂ class A
SOURCE: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
