VW ABT e-Transporter T6.1 (2020) Full Tour with Interior, Exterior, Charging and Driving!

[@RedBatteryHead]

Best dealer info I've seen on an EV.

[@NicholasEJones]

As a Tesla and VW camper driver this is good news, hopefully double that range and would be usable for trips

[@CaliforniaChris]

100% - cheers for your comment.

[@JohnField]

Same here! Kinda hoping a cybertruck will be able to replace both though

[@Lazyonics]

The future !

[@CaliforniaChris]

Definitely!

[@Peoplestariff]

Thanks for this Chris this was obviously pre ID buzz days and today the long wheel version was released which the California will be based on . However the Abt e Transporter I doubt if they’ll make a California as the new transporter will be based on the Ford Transit - the T7 you mentioned is actually the multivan which is more of a replacement for the sharan & touran & caravelle all in one vehicle and not a transporter at all - wonder if anyone has made a camper from this limited mileage stop gap

[@CaliforniaChris]

We made this video loooong before T7 news or ID Buzz days. There's already some videos on camper conversions in ID Buzz that are worth a watch!

[@jamiep61]

I enjoyed watching the Video Preview. First details about the New 2021 Model Year Caddy are now available on the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Website. I hope the New Caddy California does come to the UK

[@CaliforniaChris]

Cheers for your comment!

[@garyengland1029]

Can you bolt something to mainframe say a water tank ? can the battery be removed to do this ?

[@jamesallen5627]

I’m on my 2nd caravelle as a wheelchair conversion. Would I be able to have the electric as a wheelchair vehicle ?

[@darrensmith6999]

Thank You this is very interesting thank you. Recently got one of theas at the VW Commercial dealer i work at have driven i a couple of times and i am quite impressed.

[@elliottevan9348]

i realize I am quite off topic but does anyone know of a good site to watch newly released series online ?

[@nelsonluciano6641]

@Elliott Evan i use FlixZone. Just search on google for it =)

[@richardcope3850]

Brilliant video, keep up the good work. Amazing vehicle when you think of the progress that's been made. Do you think solar panels on the roof would be a viable way of 'topping up' throughout the day?

[@CaliforniaChris]

Hard to say! I guess it depends on the weight of the panels vs the energy needed to carry them around. Certainly something worth looking in to. Leave it with me.

[@nameberry220]

​@@CaliforniaChris I imagine you could fit around 7m² of solar panels which would be about 1kw of solar , flexible solar panels are light and would weigh around 20kg, so assume 50kg for the set up. From 1kw of solar, you would produce around 2kw-4.5kw. At 250w/km you're range would increase about 8-18km per day. If the set up cost $2000, for the same price you would get 13,000-3,000km (0.15-0.60c/kwh electricity price). It would take 1000-230 days for that to pay off, assuming each day you generated 3.25kw / 13km from the solar. If you had solar panels they could slide out either side, taking up a car space each side, you would be able to generate 24-56km per day if you care was parked all day in the sun. It seems like it might be worthwhile, if you can be parked in the sun.

[@bearcomestoo]

Thank you for the tour. Any suggestions as to how to fit anchor points to strap a motorbike in the back if it's not possible to drill holes in the floor due to the battery location? Thanks

[@chrislodzinski9056]

How much does the range of the vehicle alter in winter when wipers , heaters and fans are all going. How much power does the a/c use in summer? Thanks.

[@bunnyman1978]

Half it at best!

[@anitajohannadrost]

Very interesting! 👍😁👋🇳🇱 Thank you.

[@CaliforniaChris]

Thank you too!

[@redstar612]

82miles you cant be serious ... room enough to put more power in it 😑 but never the less this is the future for the Transporter its just a matter of time 👍

[@CaliforniaChris]

I think the main issue is the cost of the battery when it's not being mass produced. It will almost certainly cost less to produce over time, which should mean cheaper cost for customers and larger range. Think of this more like a proof of concept.

[@sichere]

@@CaliforniaChris VW are stuck with these and are offering them at £180/month 24 month lease so when you take the cost of road tax and fuel savings it's a very good deal if you can live with the poor range and lack of charge points.

[@bludgeonedbabyseal]

VW is way behind the competition on electrified commercial vans and that despite their deep pockets. Look at PSA Group and Mercedes-Benz and their in-house full-electric vans. Or Ford's new Transit that boasts 217 miles on a single charge under WLTP rules. It is weird that VW has spent so much on developing mass-market cars like the ID3 and then ignored commercial vans.

[@paulgolfg60]

How much are they and when are they available to order/purchase Chris??

[@MaxPowweer1]

Panel starts at £42 ex VAT and Kombi at £46 ex VAT. Open for order now

[@marks-0-0]

The IDBuzz is meant to be out in 2022 but I'd rather have an e Kombi or e Caravelle. I think the Buzz will be crazy expensive.

[@CaliforniaChris]

Batteries are expensive, sadly! We're looking forward to the ID Buzz too, but an eKombi is an interesting thought!

[@Filmchippy]

Any news on when VW will have a software update for Android Auto. Picked my van up at the start of the month and app connect only works with Google maps, no sound on every other app ☹️

[@garyengland1029]

Are vw doing trade in for existing van owners on contract hire

[@bugsbacon3025]

Will there be a more powerful version=to 200bhp diesel model? Or a model with more range?

[@CaliforniaChris]

We don't know anything about future plans just yet, but it would be sensible to assume there will be an increase of range in the future.

[@steveeod]

Watch the video again and count how many times he says “er”. It’s so funny!

[@CaliforniaChris]

It literally arrived that morning, haha. Unscripted content!

[@danwebster2221]

Lower than normal with a plastic undertray protecting the batteries is a bit worrying

[@robertedwards3770]

Doesn't charge at 7.5kw misled by VW

[@RickRick552]

does it have a real transmission? or like all other ev's just 1 gear?

[@stephenhayes50]

I have this transporter abte and the CCS does not work. No rapid charging is possible. The charging cable supplied is only 20amp. Not enough for more than 3kw/h. Are vw just trying to upset their customers or does the van charge that badly? Despite the claims on VW's website and yours. I would like you to physically prove with a readout VW's claims please. Them I will have a bit more faith.

[@glennkilby3544]

Most tradespeople (like myself) are all too aware of van tool thieves. Like a lot of my friends, I reverse my van against the sidewall of my house. The rear doors and side door is difficult to reach and open. I think the charging point by the sliding door this is a bad design

[@CaliforniaChris]

That's a fair point, but this is a modified existing vehicle so not many places to put the charging port. Hopefully in a future model it might be different.

[@daves4026]

Not worth it for me at 72miles even I occasionally drive more than 72miles in a journey and don’t want to hire another van especially given the premium price of this. Waiting for the new one in 2023

[@pete1927]

Would be better hydrogen powered, but a fascinating insight Chris cheers for posting.

[@CaliforniaChris]

An interesting point - I'm just not sure whether hydrogren will be as heavily adopted as this technology. I'll admit if I'm wrong in the long run, though!

[@pete1927]

California Chris Mercedes Benz Daimler we’re going for it big time Chris, but I have learnt they pulled it last month as they cannot make a financialy viable mass market motor. Back to batteries 😀

[@CaliforniaChris]

That's the problem with bringing stuff to mass market. They need to start with luxury cars that have the technology and work their way down, otherwise there's not as much room to scale it affordably.

[@effervescence5664]

Love the idea of this but totally impractical for anything other than short range transport (DPD etc). Can't securely fix a van vault down to the chassis due to the batteries being mounted underneath. Until they actually team up with manufacturers like Vanvault etc and provide fixing down points they're effectively a no go for any trades people. Then any small company will be doing upto or over 82 miles in a day anyway, it's only British Gas which can get away with the short range E-Vivaro due to the sheer amount of engineers in a small location. Really does feel like large companies will benefit most and small traders are going to get shat on with expenses due to having to stay with diesel vans.

[@CaliforniaChris]

It's scales of economy, I think. They need to sell as many of these as possible to make the technology cheaper, which means they can make better battery technology at a lower cost and produce better range vans for smaller companies. That means selling this type of van, with this type of range, to large businesses like delivery companies. I don't think this is entirely designed for the everyday worker, but there will be many who would benefit from it.

[@Mannn453]

Uauuuuuuuu

[@CaliforniaChris]

👍

[@daves4026]

I’m mean the I’d buzz cargo

[@jonnywayner]

Good for 50 miles if your lucky n van is empty

[@CaliforniaChris]

It's definitely a niche vehicle for a specific use-case (multi-drop deliveries). The technology will improve rapidly, I think.

[@mattmitchell6157]

82 miles is no where near enough

[@CaliforniaChris]

I think this model is definitely designed for a very specific use-case. It's only a matter of time before the technology improves as they start to mass produce batteries for their EVs.

[@grytis]

Almost ful 71 mil its a joke ! :D

[@CaliforniaChris]

I think this model is designed with a very specific use-case in mind. It's only a matter of time before the battery technology improves and finds its way in to the van range.

[@bunnyman1978]

81 Miles is just shockingly bad with the current level of development of electric powertrains already in production. I would be embarrassed if I was VW to be putting this out there as their latest development if I'm honest. A leaf from 8 years ago had twice the range of this vehicle and 80 Miles in the real world, mid UK winter with a load in will be more like 35 Miles or so. Back to the drawing board Volkswagen!

[@CaliforniaChris]

I agree that this does seem like a proof of concept, but it's also very useful for multi-drop drivers and delivery companies who can have large fleets of these ready to go after doing a quick delivery run.

[@joenest2122]

I've never heard one person say the word "obviously" so many times. If it's all so obvious, why are you bothering to tell us?

[@CaliforniaChris]

Sorry, it's just a filler word I use, trying to cut down on it. Cheers for the feedback.

[@clfehr08]

Solution is simple. Move on.

[@peterhannan3816]

Pointless 80 miles, when a Tesla can do 2-300 why even bother with 80?

[@MaxPowweer1]

But can you put 2 euro pellets and 1tonne in the back of a Tesla? They're aimed at inner city drivers, where miles are lower and charge points are plentiful.

[@peterhannan3816]

Luke Evans why would you try to put a pallet in a Tesla? Are you that short sighted that you don’t understand the question I was asking? can you not put a van body on a Tesla and then load 2 pallets on? It’s more a question of: the tech exists why are we using lesser options? If the battery range of a Tesla gives 200 miles the option in this van is waaaaaaaaaaay short, I don’t see why it’s even an option! It’s pointless