VW has confirmed it will reprise its most famous camper, as a version of the ID.Buzz.

EXCITING news to discuss at the campground this Christmas break; the electric successor to the eponymous Volkswagen Kombi is going to continue its forebear’s most famous role.

VW has confirmed it will definitely produce a camper version of its retro-inspired electric ID.Buzz van.

An announcement about the battery-dedicated California camper, plus some new images giving an idea of how it will present, came as Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles confirmed its medium-term future plans for its Hannover plant where, as well as a new Bentley and other VW van models, the ID.Buzz will be produced from next year.

With the ID.Buzz slated initially to appear in passenger and cargo variants (the blue and white model pictured today) from late 2022, the camper will not be launched until the “second half of the decade”.

The ID.California would bring to four the number of models in VW's California line-up.

At present that family comprises the Caddy California micro-camper that has just been released to New Zealand and two models that have established here over the past year, the California 6.1 - a camper version of the company's mid-sized Transporter - and the Grand California, based on VW's large Crafter van.

While there are no specific details about the ID.California yet, much is known about the model on which it is based, not least that the showroom edition – previewed by the vehicle in striped camouflage seen today - will keep reasonably true to the general styling of the Buzz concept, which is so clearly inspired by the classic VW T2 Transporter of the 1950s and '60s – aka the Kombi in NZ-speak.

It will also be available in short- and long-wheelbase versions.

The ID.Buzz will sit on VW's MEB platform and will feature a range of battery sizes from 48kWh to 111kWh, the latter giving the van a range of around 550km.

Overseas’ reports says a single-motor model featuring a 152kW unit driving the rear wheels will likely start the line-up with dual-motor all-wheel drive models expected too, all of which, like other MEB vehicles such as the VW ID.3 and ID.4, will support rapid charging.

It's been suggested the ID.California will certainly need a large battery capacity to cope with the additional weight of the extra fixtures and fittings of a camper.

But such a vehicle is definitely a go. Carsten Intra, chairman of the board of management at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, told media the ID.California “will combine the ongoing trend towards mobile leisure arrangements with sustainable CO2-neutral.”