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febbraio 20, 2020 - Volkswagen

Back to the future: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles shows an early pioneer of electric mobility at Techno Classica

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

  • 42 years after it left the factory, a rare VW “Elektro-Transporter” has been added to the #Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ vintage models collection
  • The electric T2 was licensed in 1978 by Berlin Municipal Transport Services
  • VW “Elektro-Transporter” were built for a fleet trial in the 70s to try out electric mobility

Hannover, 20 February 2020 – #Volkswagencommercialvehicles will be electrifying #technoclassica 2020 in Essen (25 to 29 March): in the shape of a roadworthy electric VW van based on the T2, the Hannover-based company will effectively be showing the forerunner of the future ID. BUZZ. First licensed in April 1978 to Berlin Municipal Transport Services, it is now part of VWCV Oldtimer’ collection. This Bulli is more than a vintage van, it is one of very few zero-emission classic vehicles anywhere in the world.

It is a leap of 50 years. Back to a time when #Volkswagen in Wolfsburg laid the still frail foundations for the electric mobility of the future: in 1970 the inventors of the Bulli and Beetle set up a development division in Wolfsburg that came up with the first electrically powered #Volkswagen. Even back then the aim was already to tap into alternative sources of energy in order to become less dependent on fossil fuels and to glide along the city streets with zero emissions. In 1972, the company showed a first prototype at the Hannover Trade Fair. It was in the form of a pick-up with an uncovered cargo bed. A short time later, a short production run of VW’s electric van began. It was offered not only as a pick-up, but also as a minibus and a panel van and had a formidable payload of 800 kg. And that despite the battery weighing 880 kg itself.

One of the participants in the fleet trial was the City of Berlin. In the years that followed the city authorities purchased seven electric vans. One of them was a T2, produced in 1972 and licensed on 14 April 1978 to Berlin Municipal Transport Services, Drains Division. Emblazoned on the van was the slogan: “Electrically powered - Environmentally friendly”. Indeed, Berlin approached the trial very thoroughly: in the Tiergarten district a battery changing station was set up, where the empty battery unit could be switched over inside five minutes for a fully charged one. That was able to be done because the rechargeable battery integrated under the cargo bed could be simply pushed out. #Volkswagen developed the battery charging and switching technology in collaboration with Rhenish-Westphalian Electricity (RWE) and the then General Electric Street Vehicles Co. (GES).

As an alternative, it was also possible to charge the lead traction battery from Varta via an interface in the back of the Bulli. More than four decades ago the van from the future also already had an energy recovery system on board, via which kinetic energy was stored when the brakes were applied. The amount of power the battery could hold was 21.6 kWh, enough for the electric VW van to cover distances of up to 85 kilometres. Forward propulsion was provided by an externally excited direct current shunt-wound motor from Bosch (later Siemens). It achieved a steady output of 16 kW (22 PS) and could briefly peak at 32 kW (44 PS). The maximum torque was a powerful 160 Nm.

Electrically powered in this way, the van, which weighed 2,170 kg, could reach a top speed of 75 km/h, which was fast enough, as it was mostly used within the city. And it achieved more than that, too: the electric VW van was the nucleus that set off a process of development that drove generations of engineers to try to create a zero emissions Bulli for mass production. But for decades what was lacking for that was a truly practical battery technology. Today things are different. Already being offered by #Volkswagencommercialvehicles is the e-Crafter, a large, modern era, zero-emissions van. And in 2022 the ID. BUZZ and ID. BUZZ Cargo will be taking off. Ready for the future of mobility.

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