1 week Ago By Max Davies
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles' ambition to revitalise its lineup means that by the end of 2025, it will have four people movers on sale in Australia – a strategy it justifies by presenting each with a different use case for different customers. or signup to continue reading Those four people movers will comprise the ; the recently launched electric vehicle (EV); the new ; and the new . Among these, there's variety in physical size, drivetrains, and seating configurations – a factor that, according to Volkswagen Australia, means each vehicle is best suited to a specific job.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia product manager Nadia Bucholtz told Australian media that while the four vans could "potentially" steal sales from one another, that wasn't a concern for the German brand. "There's something there for everybody. It comes down to personal preference, but they do offer different things to different people," she said.
. "In December last year, we launched our highly anticipated ID. Buzz .
.. this vehicle will be our segment buster.
"Towards the end of this year, we'll be launching our new Caravelle, which will provide businesses with a solution for transporting up to nine people for services like airport shuttles, as an example. "And today we took a look at the new Multivan, a vehicle ..
. that allows people the best of both worlds – a solution for carrying people that doesn't compromise lifestyle." The two most unique products in the lineup will arguably be the ID.
Buzz and the Multivan. The ID. Buzz, a spiritual successor to the iconic Volkswagen Kombi, is naturally isolated due to its all-electric drivetrain and retro-inspired styling.
The Multivan, meanwhile, has split from the commercial underpinnings of the and Caravelle and is now built atop the MQB Evo passenger car platform shared with several other Volkswagen Group products, including the and . While that creates some differentiation between each member of the quartet, Volkswagen Australia's acting general manager of corporate communications, Daniel DeGasperi, added that cannibalisation of sales between models was not new for the Volkswagen Group. "This question was asked at our launch .
.. around ID.
4 and Tiguan, and we're quite happy if a customer comes in for a Tiguan and ends up with an ID.4 [or vice versa]," he said. "At a global level, currently we do have all those options because everyone's use case, particularly in commercial vehicles, we find, is quite nuanced and quite different.
"Caravelle, for example, we really do see a far more increased fleet or business focus for that car with nine seats and major space, whereas [the Multivan] is very much a private car." Even so, such a variety of vehicles from one brand is uncommon in Australia's people mover segment. The class-leading is the Korean brand's only such vehicle here, as is the case with more van-like options like the and .
Having four vehicles likely won't help Volkswagen to lead the people mover segment either. Though working with newly launched and yet-to-be-updated models, the Caddy, Caravelle, ID. Buzz, and Multivan have so far contributed to a total sales haul of 105 units to the end of March 2025.
In the same period, the Carnival chalked up a whopping 2402 sales. The Staria and Tourneo have managed 236 and 157 sales respectively. Pricing could have a part to play in those figures.
The base Carnival S costs $50,300 before on-roads, while the updated Multivan – a direct rival – will start at $75,990 before on-roads once on sale this month. For further context, the Caddy Maxi starts at $53,225 before on-roads, and the ID. Buzz at $87,990 before on-roads.
Updated models, including the addition of a hybrid and another diesel powertrain in the coming months for the Multivan, could shift the balance, and Volkswagen has said it . Content originally sourced from: Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. We care about the protection of your data.
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