The first electric minivan will change the way you think about EVs

When I stepped up to test drive the all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz, the first thing I thought was that it looked as if it were grinning, almost too much. But once inside, the smug mug made sense. The Buzz is the first all-electric minivan in the United States and a leap toward luxury compared to its iconic predecessor, the VW Bus from the 1960s. It can seat up to seven people with lots of legroom, has more interior cargo space than a Suburban, and features a vast electrochromic sunroof that turns opaque at the touch of a button. With a low center of gravity thanks to its battery, the Buzz turns on a dime. A few days after my test drive, Volkswagen’s electric minivan won the 2025 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award at the Detroit Auto Show. I’m not here to sell you a minivan. But I do think we’re witnessing a watershed moment for EVs, one that might change the way you think about our electrified future. December was the best month ever for EV sales worldwide, and the number of EVs sold in the US last year reached a record 1.3 million. Some industry analysts expect that number to climb in 2025, when there will be even more options to go electric at some of the lowest prices yet. And thanks to some simple changes to plug standards, this year should also see progress in building out the nation’s charging infrastructure, thanks to an influx of cash from the Biden administration, which has historically been terrible but is inching its way toward good. While the incoming Trump administration is poised to eliminate some tax breaks for EV buyers, experts in the sector say that the industry’s momentum is unstoppable. At the same time, EV sales growth is slowing. Yes, the industry keeps breaking records, but it’s breaking them by smaller margins. Tesla, which manufactures the top two bestselling EVs in the country and is the largest EV manufacturer in the world, actually saw its market share shrink for the first time ever in 2024. That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. With the exception of the audacious new Cybertruck, Tesla has been selling the same four EV models for years, even as its competitors, including legacy automakers like Volkswagen and GM as well as newcomers like Rivian and Polestar, are breaking conventions and introducing completely new body types, like VW’s minivan or Rivian’s offroading vehicles. The cost of EVs is falling, too. Chevy just started selling an all-electric Equinox SUV that comes in at less than $35,000. (Chevy’s gas-powered Equinox starts at $28,600.) And, the Chinese automaker BYD has been exploding in popularity thanks in part to its ultra affordable EVs, which you can’t currently buy in the US. “People can see vehicles coming on the market that sort of fit what they want as well,” Volkswagen’s Mark Gillies told me after my test drive. “So I just think the more choice you have, and the more different variants of vehicle, the more you’ll see acceptance of EVs.” [Media: https://www.vox.com/videos/354382/china-electric-vehicles-video] EVs used to be synonymous with the Tesla, but now almost every carmaker has an electric offering. Most of them get 200 to 300 miles per charge, which is more than enough for the daily driving needs of the average American. For those with a garage or parking spot with access to a power outlet, that means charging on the go is a non-issue, since they can plug in the vehicle overnight and then expect the battery to last them through the next day. Still, the state of charging infrastructure remains a major issue for a lot of Americans thinking about buying EVs. It’s historically been plagued by reliability problems, confused by carmakers using different types of plugs, and just less convenient than the century-old network of gas stations in the US. Taking a road trip with an EV remains a terrifying challenge for many with range anxiety, which is the fear that your EV will run out of battery and leave you stranded. “It’s not so much range anxiety, it’s infrastructure anxiety,” said Nicole Wakelin, editor-at-large of CarBuzz and a juror for the North American, Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards. “What the average person drives in a day can easily be covered just charging at home at night, and there’s no need to find a charger when you’re out and about.” But when you’re roadtripping, “chargers are still not plentiful.” But there are several good things happening on the infrastructure front this year — if some new developments manage to survive the changing political landscape. The Biden administration recently announced $635 million in grants to keep building EV charging stations and renewable fueling stations in an effort to get the country closer to its goal of having 500,000 publicly available charging stations by 2030. EV plugs are now becoming standardized as most major carmakers have signed on to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) in 2025. That’s what Tesla uses, which means almost every EV will be able to plug into its Supercharger network. Convenience will get a major boost this year, too, since a new “universal Plug and Charge” standard is rolling out this year. That means no more fumbling with apps or credit cards at a charging station. As the standard’s name implies, you just plug and charge. While these investments and updates are moving us in the right direction, there’s real urgency to replace gas-powered cars with their cleaner EV counterparts. Earth’s average temperature rose by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius for the first time last year, as oil and gas production continue to increase. Los Angeles is on fire. Electrifying transportation could have an immediate impact on climate change. The transportation sector accounts for about 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and it’s the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the US, so electrifying every vehicle is a step closer to net zero. The effort is gaining momentum, too. EVs accounted for 4 percent of all passenger vehicles in the world in 2020, but that share had grown to 18 percent by the beginning of 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. And 2024 itself was record-breaking, with global EV sales growing by 25 percent. The majority of this growth is happening in China, where BYD has surpassed Tesla as the most popular EV maker. BYD, which sells its tiny but capable Seagull EV for the equivalent $10,000 in China, is popular in Mexico but has no plans to enter the US market in the face of tariffs on EV imports imposed by the Biden administration and even more potential tariffs coming from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the cheapest new EVs available in the US start at about $30,000 before state and federal tax credits. Which, simple math suggests, equals about three BYD Seagulls per cheap American EV. So it should come as no surprise that the US trails other parts of the world when it comes to EV adoption. Cox Automotive expects the share of new vehicles that are EVs to hit 10 percent in 2025, up from about 7.5 percent last year. Infrastructure anxiety explains some of the slow uptake, but affordability has historically been a problem as well. Only 3 percent of EVs cost less than $37,000, according to a Bank of America Global Research report, which might explain why more Americans are opting for cheaper hybrid options. A Gallup poll from March 2024 showed that while EV ownership is increasing in the US, the number of Americans who say they’re considering buying an EV is declining. Republicans dominated that group of naysayers by a large margin, as did those who aren’t worried about climate change. The new Trump administration has been overall cagey about what it will do with EVs, but it doesn’t look good. Trump has said he will “terminate [Biden’s] electric vehicle mandate,“ a vague campaign promise that many assume means an end to the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases. This may seem counterintuitive since his biggest supporter, Elon Musk, owns Tesla, but Musk has said that ending the tax credits will actually help his EV company. While other incentive programs would still exist, like New York’s statewide program, an end to federal rebates would surely discourage some potential EV buyers. “Certainly the government incentives are helping,” said Mark Schirmer of Cox Automotive. “If those are reduced or eliminated, that might slow some sales down, but it’s not going to turn off EV sales.” It’s not clear if or how Trump will follow through on any of his campaign promises, much less one that takes on the US auto industry. Trump’s incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told several news outlets in the past couple months that the president-elect will keep his promise of “stopping attacks on gas-powered cars” but will also “support the auto industry, allowing space for both gas-powered cars AND electric vehicles.” Given the number of powerful members of Congress with job-creating EV factories in their home districts, one could see why the Trump administration is keeping everything on the table for now. As I was sitting behind the wheel of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz recently, it got me thinking about another watershed moment in automotive history: When Chrysler invented the minivan in the early 1980s, it showed that you could move a lot of people in an easy-to-handle vehicle and still get good gas mileage. This completely transformed the auto industry and paved the way for the gas-guzzling SUV takeover in the 1990s and 2000s. The minivan steered us toward the future we’re living in, for better or worse. And now maybe today, it could steer us toward a future where major cities are not on fire. I’m not saying that the Volkswagen ID. Buzz will revolutionize the EV industry. At $60,000, it’s not cheap, but it is the only electric minivan you can buy right now. Volkswagen is also already testing a self-driving version, which it expects to roll out with a robotaxi service as soon as 2026. The idea of climbing into a comfy minivan with a fancy sunroof and getting dropped off safely at my destination without human intervention or a drop of gasoline sounds like a future I’d like living in. For EVs to keep their momentum through changes in policy and consumer sentiment, Americans have to believe in the future they’ll carry us to. We’ll get a better glimpse of what that looks like in 2025. In the meantime, if you are an aspiring soccer dad with passion for sustainable transportation, try test-driving the new electric minivan. It really does turn on a dime. A version of this story was also published in the Vox Technology newsletter. Sign up here so you don’t miss the next one!

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The first electric minivan will change the way you think about EVs