End of T6.1 (California) production expected June 2024

[dspuk]

Just so everyone is aware the New California will not be built on the Volkswagen/Ford platform.

They are just awaiting to confirm what platform it will be built on but definitely wont be the aligned one with ford.

I'm going to park this one under no-one really knows so everyone is guessing.

Only last week it was reported the Hannover factory does not know and they themselves were speculating that the Ford may be shipped over as a BIW and then fitted by them.

Now we are to understand a dealer has been told on a phone call with VW?

Never in my 27 years at Nissan was a dealer privy to that info at this stage in the game.

And before anyone says Buzz, give it a rest - you can barely fit a car seat and a weeks shopping in it, never mind a family of 4, wardrobes, fridge, burners, cookers and two beds!

 

[Tomdbreeze]

We have been told it won’t be built on vw

I'm goign to park this one under no-one really knows so everyone is guessing.

Only last week it was reported the Hannover factory does not know and they themselves were speculating that the Ford may be shipped over as a BIW and then fitted by them.

Now we are to understand a dealer has been told on a phone call with VW?

Never in my 27 years at Nissan was a dealer privy to that info at this stage in the game.

And before anyone says Buzz, give it a rest - you can barely fit a car seat and a weeks shopping in it, never mind a family of 4, wardrobes, fridge, burners, cookers and two beds!

it won’t be built on VW/ford as that effectively gives the design platform to ford and then ford would be able to undercut Volkswagen with their own campervan.

The more likely base would be multivan and build from there which is Volkswagen built still.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I'm goign to park this one under no-one really knows so everyone is guessing.

Only last week it was reported the Hannover factory does not know and they themselves were speculating that the Ford may be shipped over as a BIW and then fitted by them.

Now we are to understand a dealer has been told on a phone call with VW?

Never in my 27 years at Nissan was a dealer privy to that info at this stage in the game.

And before anyone says Buzz, give it a rest - you can barely fit a car seat and a weeks shopping in it, never mind a family of 4, wardrobes, fridge, burners, cookers and two beds!

Volkswagen have already confirmed a Buzz California .
What more do you not understand…???

 

[Corradobrit]

Volkswagen have already confirmed a Buzz California .
What more do you not understand…???

There is also a Caddy California so I'm not that is saying much

 

[soulstyledevon]

There is also a Caddy California so I'm not that is saying much
View attachment 105684

I’d rather Tent…

 

[WelshGas]

Volkswagen have already confirmed a Buzz California .
What more do you not understand…???

There are at present 3 Californias , all built on different platforms.
The iD Buzz could be the platform for a Beach equivalent and the Multivan for the Ocean.
Nothing says ALL Californias have to be on the same platform.

It has been said in the past that the California SE/Ocean evolved from the Caravelle. We now have the successor to the Caravelle, the Multivan.

 

[dspuk]

Volkswagen have already confirmed a Buzz California .
What more do you not understand…???

Well, they have “confirmed” an ID California, not a Buzz California as the Buzz is a variant of ID, not the other way around.

So what did they confirm?

So far that an ID Cali would be after 2025 (no actual date given, so could be as far as 2027) and that the approval is for development only at this stage.

People are guessing that it may be built on the the LWB variant of the Buzz, but VW did not say that. In fact they said very little.

Personally I still have challenges. I have said previous I would love an all Electric vehicle but I can’t make a passenger car work for us, never mind a Camper. Our 800m recent France trip would have been impossible and likely taken an extra 2 days and as for our upcoming NC500, the 10 days planned would need to be a lot longer if even possible. Could we even reach Cornwall without a very long stop at a service station with a broken charge point?

I also have worries about any interior space on a Buzz. Atm it’s about 3/4 size of a Cali, regardless of Exterior dimensions - the lower roof and sliding nose take a lot of space away. So any LWB would need a lot of shell work.

I get the passion, but prefer realism and facts. I’m not a EV detractor, having been heavily involved in the launch, marketing and social media when Nissan Leaf was released, including personally interviewing Robert Llewelyn. I’ve seen and heard it all on both sides.

Edit - just to add. At Nissan we had something called the “z” plant - where top secret models sat for several years before a single person not approved saw them. Security tighter than Apple. There is nothing to say the Cali ID Buzz 8.0 (add variant here) of your dreams is not sat in there just waiting to be revealed in 2025. Model cycles, car dependant, are 5 - 10 years, not counting facelifts. In some cases (Qashcow) we started the new model (in secret) almost immediacy after launching the previous!

 

[soulstyledevon]

Well, they have “confirmed” an ID California, not a Buzz California as the Buz is a varient of ID, not the other way around.

So what did they confirm?

So far that an ID Cali would be after 2025 (no actual date given, so could be as far as 2027) and that the approval is for development only at this stage.

People are guessing that it may be built on the the LWB variant of the Buzz, but VW did not say that. In fact they said very little.

Personally I still have challenges. I have said previous I would love an all Electric vehicle but I can’t make a passenger car work for us, never mind a Camper. Our 800m recent France trip would have been impossible and likely taken an extra 2 days and as for our upcoming NC500, the 10 days planned would need to be a lot longer if even possible. Could we even reach Cornwall without a very long stop at a service station with a broken charge point?

I also have worries about any interior space on a Buzz. Atm it’s about 3/4 size of a Cali, regardless of Exterior dimensions - the lower roof and sliding nose take a lot of space away. So any LWB would need a lot of shell work.

I get the passion, but prefer realism and facts. I’m not a EV detractor, having been heavily involved in the launch, marketing and social media when Nissan Leaf was released, including personally interviewing Robert Llewelyn. I’ve seen and heard it all on both sides.

I don’t disagree with a lot of your comments.
But I can’t see Volkswagen investing in a new platform just to satisfy the traditional California buyers.

The facts which we know:
ID California confirmed in a few years time.
New van platform, joint venture with Ford.
T7 is now the old Sharan.

 

[soulstyledevon]

There are at present 3 Californias , all built on different platforms.
The iD Buzz could be the platform for a Beach equivalent and the Multivan for the Ocean.
Nothing says ALL Californias have to be on the same platform.

It has been said in the past that the California SE/Ocean evolved from the Caravelle. We now have the successor to the Caravelle, the Multivan.

Just Because some lemon stuck some California stickers on the side, doesn’t make them what a California is to most people.
I don’t consider anything other, than that built on a T-series to be a California.
They’re all useless in comparison…

 

[WelshGas]

Just Because some lemon stuck some California stickers on the side, doesn’t make them what a California is to most people.
I don’t consider anything other, than that built on a T-series to be a California.
They’re all useless in comparison…

So the T7 multivan is it then.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

It will be interesting to see which base vehicle the multitude of t6 conversion companies default to in the next couple of years. Camperking; Jerba; Hillside; Ecowagon; Westfalia; 3 Bridges; etc; etc; etc; etc.

 

[ivan & jill]

Very interesting speculation and nice to see that we are all invested in the California lifestyle enough to care about what comes next. With IC engines being phased out from 2030, I cannot see why VW would invest too much development cost in a new diesel Cali. So, I'm with WelshGas on the T7 theory. I think that a viable all-electric proper camper, as opposed to an ID Buzz that you can sleep in and a cooker pod, will have to wait for improvement in battery technology to get the range and payload required. Or we will have to go big with an electric Grand California.

Caveat: I am no vehicle industry expert.

 

[WelshGas]

The Multivan already has all the driver aids, a Parking Heater option and cab swivel seats. Replace the passenger seats with a 2 bench, lightweight, seat/ bed. Combined kitchen/wardrobe unit. 1 sliding door only, mechanical pop top roof/bed.
Replace engine battery with large capacity Lithium battery for engine and camper electrics and away you go.
I believe Hybrid vehicles can be manufactured until 2035 so a good model run for a Hybrid T7 California.

 

[Corradobrit]

The Multivan already has all the driver aids, a Parking Heater option and cab swivel seats. Replace the passenger seats with a 2 bench, lightweight, seat/ bed. Combined kitchen/wardrobe unit. 1 sliding door only, mechanical pop top roof/bed.
Replace engine battery with large capacity Lithium battery for engine and camper electrics and away you go.
I believe Hybrid vehicles can be manufactured until 2035 so a good model run for a Hybrid T7 California.

But the T7 Multivan is built on the MQB platform which has tight payload limitations. This wouldn't be suitable for a proper Cali, although some have made a stab at it.

Spacecamper Modular Serial 7 (2023) : Ausbau für VW T7 Multivan

Bisher gibt es eine überschaubare Menge an VW-T7-Campern. Spacecamper zeigt mit dem Modular Serial 7 ein Ausbausystem speziell für den Multivan.

www.promobil.de

 

[soulstyledevon]

So the T7 multivan is it then.

Stop calling it a T7. It’s a Sharan…

 

[dspuk]

I don’t disagree with a lot of your comments.
But I can’t see Volkswagen investing in a new platform just to satisfy the traditional California buyers.

The facts which we know:
ID California confirmed in a few years time.
New van platform, joint venture with Ford.
T7 is now the old Sharan.

I think we are in violent agreement

 

[Kemper-van]

Very interesting speculation and nice to see that we are all invested in the California lifestyle enough to care about what comes next. With IC engines being phased out from 2030, I cannot see why VW would invest too much development cost in a new diesel Cali. So, I'm with WelshGas on the T7 theory. I think that a viable all-electric proper camper, as opposed to an ID Buzz that you can sleep in and a cooker pod, will have to wait for improvement in battery technology to get the range and payload required. Or we will have to go big with an electric Grand California.

Caveat: I am no vehicle industry expert.

I think the shared Ford/VW platform allows for both ICE/electric drivetrains, so would be a good run for the future too. Cfr. Electric Custom.

If I would be an independent converter, I’d switch to this new platform: with your conversions, you can then:
- offer both ICE or electric option
- cater to both VW fans and ford adepts
- purchase cost of base vehicle is probably much lower than that of the upmarket T7 Multivan.

Interesting times ahead!

 

[dspuk]

I think the shared Ford/VW platform allows for both ICE/electric drivetrains, so would be a good run for the future too. Cfr. Electric Custom.

If I would be an independent converter, I’d switch to this new platform: with your conversions, you can then:
- offer both ICE or electric option
- cater to both VW fans and ford adepts
- purchase cost of base vehicle is probably much lower than that of the upmarket T7 Multivan.

Interesting times ahead!

The Ford is ICE, Electric and Hybrid. While the gov is “banning” ICE cars Hybrid is the loophole and potentially the escape clause for a Camper.

 

[Tomato]

Well, IMHO it’s being canned due to VW Group being squeezed on their total EU emissions.

Plus they have to go out of the factory to someone else’s factory. Additional expense, bad for cashflow, doesnt sit well with the OEM agency model and a PITA. Factory built = more margin.

EU7 doesn’t favour heavy, heavy Cali’s either.

Focus will be on zero or tiny co2 high margin vehicles at VW, badge sharing, less chips, lighter, whatever earns an extra few Euros.

 

[Tomato]

Current Cali is a Dinosaur and the asteroid of emissions is coming…

 

[marchugo]

The end of the California ends with the 200.000 th production model.

Yesterday in Hannover VW produced the 200.000 th California since 2004. This same month VW will end the production of the Cali in it's T-form.

Der 200.000. California lief in Hannover-Limmer vom Band | vw-bulli.de

200.000 Mal Urlaub aus Hannover: In Hannover-Limmer lief nun das Jubiläumsfahrzeug vom Band. Allein in den vergangenen fünf Jahren wurden dort 100.000 Camper gebaut.

www.vw-bulli.de

Nice round-up in German, use Translate Google.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[andyinluton]

The end of the California ends with the 200.000 th production model.

Yesterday in Hannover VW produced the 200.000 th California since 2004. This same month VW will end the production of the Cali in it's T-form.

Der 200.000. California lief in Hannover-Limmer vom Band | vw-bulli.de

200.000 Mal Urlaub aus Hannover: In Hannover-Limmer lief nun das Jubiläumsfahrzeug vom Band. Allein in den vergangenen fünf Jahren wurden dort 100.000 Camper gebaut.

www.vw-bulli.de

Nice round-up in German, use Translate Google.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

I cant see where says production stops this month, only that its successor will start to be built after next years summer shutdown.

 

[dspuk]

I cant see where says production stops this month, only that its successor will start to be built after next years summer shutdown.

Same. Just says the 200k one has rolled off the line and new ones from next year.

More interesting is the point around where the base vehicle will be made after speculation that production was to move to a Ford plant.

Great news for the workers.

 

[Defender90]

Same. Just says the 200k one has rolled off the line and new ones from next year.

More interesting is the point around where the base vehicle will be made after speculation that production was to move to a Ford plant.

Great news for the workers.

I will be running mine into the ground then I will drive my 200tdi defender lol

 

[Corradobrit]

Nice dig at Westfalia. So the much taunted Nuggetfornia is dead it seems. Not sure this is great news to be honest. The Multivan appears to be a more compromised platform. I assume a Cali variant will be built on the LWB chassis which has a payload of only 881kg vs 1300kg for the T6.1 Transporter. The engineers are going to have a tricky job shoe horning a genuine Cali interior into that platform.
Viva California.