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Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Volkswagen has set a date to reveal its "groovy" microbus remade as an autonomous electric van five years after it teased the concept. "The legend returns on 03/09/22," VW Group CEO Herbert Diess tweeted Thursday with a sketch of the ID Buzz electric van concept.
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The remake of the staple of coastal California's towns was never a foregone conclusion, The Verge reported, but Volkswagen announced the ID Buzz concept as the electric successor of the Microbus in 2017, saying the decision was "driven by popular demand."
"It's ok to say 'groovy' again," Volkswagen said on its website with a link to the announcement.
The German automaker initially unveiled the ID Buzz concept at the 2017 Detroit auto show.
The March 9th reveal will show the production-ready version, and the electric Microbus is expected to be ready to hit the U.S. roads by next year, according to The Verge and CNET.com.
The concept is designed to bring back fond memories of the Microbus, first sold in the United States in 1950, while stepping into the future of electric and autonomous vehicles.
The new electric Microbus has similarities in design and engineering, including providing ample space for passengers or cargo, but also has changes based on the newer technology.
In the 1950s, the Microbus had 30 horsepower, but the ID Buzz concept has 369 horsepower form electric motors and nearly 300 miles of estimated range.
The ID Buzz will use autonomous driving software from Argo AI, which specializes in platforms for autonomous driving to make it a self-driving vehicle.
The all-electric Microbus will also serve as a platform for its commercial ride-hailing and delivery operation it aims to launch in Germany in 2025, The Verge previously reported.
It is also part of VW's decade-long plan to make 22 million electric vehicles.
