Technology

The evolution of the Volkswagen bus — from Type 2 to the electric ID Buzz

Published

2 years ago

August 25, 2023

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Volkswagen Type 2 bus lined up next to the ID. Buzz

CNBC | Sydney Boyo | Andrew Evers

The “bus,” as many fans know it, is deeply ingrained in American culture and evolved into a symbol of protest starting in the 1960s.

“There was an unpopular war. There were conflicting ideas of what the American dream was,” said Damon Ristau, the director and producer of “The Bus” documentary. “That culture grabbed on to these vehicles.”

As counterculture movements spread through the states, the bus was aligned with antiwar protests and hippies, and even was used by civil rights activists to transport schoolchildren in the segregated South.

From 1950 to 2003, four generations of the Type 2 bus were sold in the U.S., with nearly 1 million total deliveries, according to VW. The last generation imported to the U.S. was the T4 “Eurovan” model.

“After the Eurovan, the minivan segment was sort of on the decline,” said Jeffrey Lear, product manager of electric vehicles for Volkswagen of America. “The van segment in the U.S. comes with a lot of baggage. There are a lot of feelings that come with buying a van.”

Worldwide, VW has delivered nearly 19 million Type 2 buses since its inception, including the T5 through T7 generations which are still being developed in Europe, according to the company. With the ID. Buzz, VW is hoping to change up the narrative.

“It’s our modern interpretation of what we believe a bus is like for the future,” said Lear. “We’ll never call this a van or a minivan from Volkswagen of America. For us, this is a new segment. It is the bus segment.”

“There are a lot of people that have been very excited about this day for over 20 years,” said Ristau. “It’s sort of a homecoming reunion.”

The North American model will have three rows, a maximum of seven seats and a 91 kWh battery, but VW hasn’t released any details on the range or price. However, it says the range is comparable to the ID4, which has a maximum range of 275 miles per charge.

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz driving on the road.

Andrew Evers

“It’s larger than our ID4,” said Lear. “And since this is a larger battery, you would think it’d get more. But when you take a look at this thing, you realize that it’s much larger and much less aerodynamic than an ID4. So, I think you can expect probably a hair under that figure,” he said.

In the past, the bus has been built all over the world, from VW’s native Germany to South Africa and Australia.

Currently, VW is assembling the electric ID.4 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but it told CNBC it has no plans to extend that production to the ID Buzz, even with the Biden administration’s EV incentives.

“For now, we plan to just keep it in Europe,” said Lear.

Production will take place at VW’s Hannover, Germany, plant and it will be exported globally. Europe has already started presales of the model and the North American version is expected to arrive at dealers by 2024.

Watch the video to learn more about the evolution of the VW bus and its electric future.

Technology

AMD announces $6 billion buyback; shares climb 6%

Published

2 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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AMD announces billion buyback; shares climb 6%

Lisa Su, president and CEO of AMD, talks about the AMD EPYC processor during a keynote address at the 2019 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., January 9, 2019.

Steve Marcus | Reuters

AMD said on Wednesday that its board of directors approved $6 billion in share buybacks. The stock climbed 6%.

The authorization is in addition to $4 billion in existing approved share repurchases, the company said.

“Our expanded share repurchase program reflects the Board’s confidence in AMD’s strategic direction, growth prospects, and ability to consistently generate strong free cash flow,” AMD CEO Lisa Su said in a statement.

Chinese tech giant Tencent posts 13% revenue jump as growth at key gaming unit surges

Published

7 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Chinese tech giant Tencent posts 13% revenue jump as growth at key gaming unit surges

Chinese tech company Tencent is a gaming giant and the parent company of WeChat, the ubiquitous social messaging app in China.

Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Tencent on Wednesday reported an annual rise in its top and bottom line in the first quarter fuelled by accelerated growth in its key gaming business.

While revenue beat expectations, its net profit fell short.

Here’s how Tencent did in the first quarter of 2025 versus LSEG estimates:

Revenue: 180.02 billion Chinese yuan ($25 billion), versus 174.63 billion yuan expected
Net profit: 47.8 billion yuan, versus 52.2 billion yuan expected

Revenue rose 13% year-on-year, while net profit was up 14%.

This breaking news story is being updated.

Technology

Sony shares rise about 2% in volatile trading following share buyback announcement

Published

10 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Sony shares rise about 2% in volatile trading following share buyback announcement

A file photo of Hiroki Totoki, Sony Group Corporation executive, delivering a keynote address at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, on January 6, 2025.

Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Sony Group shares rose about 2% Wednesday in volatile trading after the Japanese conglomerate announced a 250 billion yen ($1.7 billion) share buyback and operating income beat estimates.

Operating income for the last three months of the financial year came in at 203.6 billion yen, beating mean analyst estimates of 192.2 billion yen, though it was down 11% from the same period last year.

In the earnings report, the Japanese-based electronics, entertainment and finance company announced a stock buyback of shares worth 250 billion yen.

Sony also provided details on a partial spinoff of its financial unit. The company plans to distribute slightly more than 80% of the shares of common stock of the spinoff to shareholders of Sony Group through dividends.

The financial unit will list its financial operation this year and will be classified as a discontinued operation in Sony’s accounting from the current quarter, the company added.

However, Sony’s outlook for the current financial year ending in March was lackluster.

The company forecasted its operating profit to rise a slight 0.3% to 1.28 trillion yen, after flagging a 100 billion yen hit from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Yet, Sony clarified that the estimated tariff impact did not reflect the trade deal made between the U.S. and China on May 12 and that the actual impact could vary significantly.