The Volkswagen ID. Buzz, long looked at as the potential savior of the brand’s soul, is taking a nap for 2026. That’s the official word from the automaker after some dealers allegedly leaked it to customers. Now, the real question is whether it’ll actually make a comeback, and if it does, whether it’ll still be the same van deep down.

More: VW Offers $10K Off ID.Buzz, Dealers Say Hold My Beer

A Volkswagen spokesperson confirmed the situation to Carscoops, stating, “Following a careful assessment of current EV market conditions, we have made the strategic decision not to move forward with MY26 ID. Buzz production for the U.S. market.”

How did we get here? First, dealers allegedly started spilling the Buzz beans to customers.

Are Dealers Jumping the Gun?

In a Reddit thread, one customer says a dealer told them the following: “I wanted to share an important update regarding the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. We’ve been notified that it’s being discontinued, with no 2026 models planned. What we currently have in stock will be the final availability.”

Review: VW ID. Buzz Is The Coolest Minivan On The Block, But There’s A Catch

That could very well just be another dealer trying to make a sale. We’ve seen plenty of those related to the Buzz and other high profile cars.To sort fact from spin, Carscoops checked back with VW. The company pushed back against the idea that the ID. Buzz was being axed outright.

“That is not accurate,” the spokesperson told us. “We gave dealers this direction: The ID. Buzz continues to serve as an important halo product for the Volkswagen brand, and safeguarding its market presence remains a top priority,” it said.

Furthermore, it seems that VW is trying to play 3D chess on this one by strategically preparing a “transition,” to the 2027 version.

“This approach allows us to focus our resources more effectively on current inventory and supporting your retail performance throughout the remainder of MY25, ensuring a strong foundation as we prepare for the MY27 transition next year,” the spokesperson said.

We pressed for more detail on what that “MY27 transition” might mean for the ID. Buzz specifically, but VW declined to elaborate further.

Still, that means it’s expected to return for the 2027 model year, or at least, that’s the plan for now.

Reading Between the Lines

It’s no secret that EVs have taken a hit across the board this year, regardless of price or segment. Regulations, tax credits, tariffs, and more have all played a role there. Stack on top of all that the pricing VW slapped on the ID. Buzz after it teased the van for twenty years, and it’s not hard to see why Volkswagen might make this choice.

In VW’s case, pricing has long been the elephant in the room. The original VW Bus became a cultural icon not just because of its design and versatility, but because it was cheap, simple, and accessible. The modern ID. Buzz missed that mark entirely, arriving in the U.S. with pricing that pushed it well beyond what many nostalgic buyers expected or were willing to pay.

For now, the ID. Buzz isn’t officially cancelled in America. But with no 2026 model planned, production reportedly paused, and dealers telling customers what’s on the lot is all that’s left, its future looks shaky. If it does return for 2027, VW might do well to find a way to sell it for a lot lot less, or make it a lot, lot better. 

Photos: VW, Stephen Rivers for Carscoops

VinFast’s bid to break into the American market has struggled to gain traction. The Vietnamese automaker’s US adventure has been marked by sluggish sales, dwindling dealership support, and a strategy that appears to be unraveling faster than it came together.

As more partners step back from the brand, questions are beginning to surface about the future of VinFast’s presence in the States.

Read: Owners Sue VinFast After VF 8 Takes Almost 24 Hours To Charge

VinFast currently offers the VF 8 crossover and the three-row VF 9 locally, and at one point, it floated plans to bring a compact VF 3 and even a pickup truck to American buyers. Those ambitions now seem increasingly out of reach.

Stalled Expansion Plans

Adding to that, the company ceremoniously broke ground on a North Carolina factory in 2023, aiming to begin production just a year later. That timeline quickly fell apart. Construction was halted, and the plant’s opening has now been postponed until 2028.

The signs aren’t encouraging. According to a report from AutoNews, VinFast now has fewer than two dozen stores operating across the US. That figure continues to shrink, as one location shut down in July, another closed in November, and a third in North Carolina is scheduled to close before the year ends.

Even among the remaining dealers, many are operating in name only. Several locations have no vehicles on site, and some are down to just a handful of units.

Indeed, of the 22 active dealers that VinFast says it has, just 17 of them have EVs in stock. Most of them have 15 or fewer vehicles available. In the case of one dealer in Florida, it has just a single 2024 VF 8 in stock, priced at $52,910.

Sales Collapse

VinFast sales have taken a big hit this year. Through the first ten months of this year, just 1,413 of its vehicles were registered in the United States, representing a 57 percent decline from the year prior. This comes despite the fact that total EV sales across the US have jump 11 percent this year.

The company’s expansion has clearly not gone as it would have liked. It originally expected to quickly sign 125 dealers, and then planned to have hundreds of outlets across the country by the end of 2024. As of August, it claimed to have “nearly 30 authorized dealerships.”

According to VinFast chairwoman Thuy Thu Le, the company has paused its aggressive push into the US and won’t open any more dealerships for the time being.

“Given the tariff situation and the instability in the EV market, we just need to see how that settles before we kind of push hard in the U.S.,” Thuy told Autonews. “Until we see some growth and stability in the U.S. market, we don’t intend to open more dealerships. Instead, we cultivate the relationship with the existing dealers and make sure they can get to profitability faster.”

After a botched rollout and years of lackluster demand, General Motors announced plans to end production of the slow-selling BrightDrop vans. The announcement was made in October and it appears dealers are having a fire sale to get rid of remaining inventory.

I originally noticed this after a local Chevy dealer was advertising a van for roughly $22,000 below MSRP. However, that’s a drop in the bucket as Chevrolet of Troy, Ohio has knocked $28,315 off a 2025 BrightDrop 400. This means you can get the $68,310 EV for as little as $39,995.

More: GM Kills Electric Van Leaving Over 1,000 Canadian Workers In Limbo

That’s barely more than a Ford Mustang Mach-E, which starts at $37,995. More importantly, it undercuts the Ford E-Transit Cargo by $13,265.

Of course, that’s far from the only example as Miami’s Bomnin Chevrolet has their $69,435 BrightDrop 400 listed for $40,435. That’s a discount of $29,000, which means you can buy a 2027 Chevrolet Bolt with the savings.

Ray Chevrolet of Fox Lake, Illinois isn’t as generous, but they’ve marked their BrightDrop 400 down $28,348. That means you can get the $69,935 delivery van for just $41,587.

If the standard model is too small for your liking, you can always upgrade to the BrightDrop 600. Kool Chevrolet has a very cool discount of $23,600 on theirs, meaning you can get it for $47,450. That’s significantly better than the original MSRP of $71,050.

It’s a similar story at Columbus’ Ricart Chevrolet, which has slashed $25,253 off the price of their 2025 BrightDrop 600. As a result, the $73,430 EV can be had for $48,177.

These huge discounts are made possible thanks to $21,500 in customer cash. The offer requires buyers to take retail delivery by January 2, so you might want to act fast if you want to own a testament to GM’s ill-fated belief in EVs.

Electric power should be the ultimate match for ultra-luxury motoring. On paper, nothing suits a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, or Maybach better than smooth, silent propulsion and torque-rich acceleration.

These are brands built on quietness, presence, and seamless power delivery, the very same traits electric vehicles seem born to provide better than any V12 ever has. In theory, this should be a golden era for the top of the market.

Review: The Rolls-Royce Spectre Is The Ultimate EV Right Now

Wealthy owners don’t worry about range, rarely road-trip their cars across states, and often have multiple vehicles (and dedicated home charging) to rotate through. So why is it that the first wave of ultra-luxury EVs is landing with a thud on the used market?

The clearest example of this is the Rolls-Royce Spectre. It’s elegant, impeccably built, and quieter than basically everything else in their lineup. Despite that, resale values are cratering faster than it can rocket from 0 to 60.

Are Rich Buyers Backing Off?

Take, for instance, the Spectre listed on Bring a Trailer early last year. With only 99 miles on the odometer and the added appeal of being a “Launch Package” edition, it failed to meet reserve with a high bid of just $451,000. That might sound like a lot, but its MSRP was $521,650.

This week, we also spotted two low-mileage, certified pre-owned examples at a Rolls-Royce Boston dealership, each listed with six-figure discounts off their original MSRP! Don’t get us wrong, no luxury car (outside of hypercars) is going to maintain perfect value.

Rolls-Royce Motorcars Boston

But together, these two Spectres from Herb Chambers originally carried a combined sticker price of $1,064,725. The lower-mileage example, showing just over 2,100 miles, is listed at $385,575, or $136,000 below its original MSRP of $521,575.

The other Spectre, with only 3,822 miles on the odometer, is priced at $385,150, reflecting a massive $158,000 drop from its $543,150 MSRP from about a year ago. That’s enough to buy a brand-new Porsche 911 Carrera T ($143,700) and still have money left over for something else.

More: Someone Drove This Maserati 255 Miles And Lost Almost $100,000

Which circles us back to the broader question. Why is it that wealthy buyers are steering clear of super-luxury EVs like the Spectre? Does it come down to tradition and the desire for a classic internal combustion powertrain like a V12 powerhouse?

Is infrastructure anxiety still a factor, even at the top end of the market? Or maybe some buyers simply haven’t driven them enough (or at all) to realize just how rewarding they really are. We’re curious what you think. Let us know in the comments below.

Rolls-Royce Motorcars Boston

Doctors and health influencers are always telling us that drinking tons of water is the secret to clearer skin, sharper minds, strain-free poops and longer lives. But if there’s one group that absolutely should not stay hydrated, it’s modern electric vehicles, because a few drops could leave them with a massive medical bill.

Just ask Reddit user u/raging_onyx who leased a Lucid Air and saw his Thanksgiving week turn into a $15,000 lesson in why electric cars and water should never meet.

What Happened?

The disaster started with a perfectly innocent trip to a grocery store to refill a water container. But a pothole encountered on the way back tipped that container over, causing a catalog of faults that eventually rendered the vehicle completely immobile.

Also: $4,900 For A Taillight? Lucid’s Ridiculous Lease Charges Are Scaring Off Buyers

Within seconds of the spill happening the dash lit up like Times Square, the EV jumped into limp mode, regen braking tapped out, and the driver got a warning to pull over. When he found a local residential area to stop and tried to reboot the system, the Air wouldn’t shift out of Park.

A Very Expensive Lesson

Lucid customer support, in an impressive display of holiday cheer, suggested two things: call insurance, and brace for the possibility the car was totaled. Happy Thanksgiving!

Also: Insurance Offered $1,700 For This R1T Mishap, Rivian Wanted A Fortune

There was more bad news when the first tow truck driver arrived and said he couldn’t move the sedan, since the Air wouldn’t shift into neutral. Fortunately, by the next day, neutral was found and a second truck was able to tow the stranded car.

Finally, the EV reached a service center, where the advisor initially estimated the repair at under $1,000. Bearable, right? This turned out to be off by roughly the price of a used Corolla.

The real number, the rep later confirmed, was about $15,000, and it wouldn’t be covered by warranty, because the spill was technically the driver’s fault.

More: A $2 Water Bottle Just Cost This Hyundai Driver Nearly $12,000

As of the Reddit post, the driver was still waiting to find out whether his insurance would step in to cover the costs. You’d think the answer would be yes, but that’s not always how these things always play out.

Just last month, we reported on a similar incident involving a Hyundai Ioniq 5. A small water spill in the rear footwell damaged the car’s wiring, and neither the manufacturer nor the insurance company was willing to cover the $11,882 repair bill.

Source: Reddit

Most drivers think spilling a bottle of water in their car is annoying at worst. Maybe you get a damp carpet and some condensation on your windows. Maybe your floor mats start to smell like a gym bag.

What you probably do not expect is a repair bill that costs more than a used Honda Civic. But that’s exactly what happened to one Hyundai driver.

Related: Stop Sale Issued For Hyundai Ioniq 5 As Sonata Gas Tanks Risk Melting

Mike McCormick was driving his Ioniq 5 on the freeway in Florida when a traffic snarl-up ahead forced him to hit the brakes. That move sent a water bottle in one of the rear cupholders flying forward and eventually to the floor, where its contents found their way into some wiring harness connectors, though it’s not clear if the bottle’s cap was on, off or somewhere in between at the time.

Within a few minutes of the water bottle performing its base jump, McCormick noticed various warning lights come up on the dash. Then the turn signals stopped working and by the time he got home he couldn’t shut the car off.

How One Bottle Became a Bill

After inspecting the two-year-old EV, a Hyundai dealer told him the underfloor and under-seat wiring harnesses would both have to be replaced. Annoying, but how much could a few wires cost, right? The answer is a whole lot, as the bill ballooned to a crazy $11,882.08.

And according to the company, the damage was caused by an “external factor,” and not a factory defect, meaning McCormick was on the hook for the whole repair cost.

Okay, you’re thinking, go to plan B: insurance. He tried that too, and State Farm denied his claim, suggesting that its investigation showed the damage to the wiring harness had occurred over time, rather than as a result of the one water bottle spill. Talk about rock and a hard place.

Why So Fragile?

WFTV Channel 9’s report on the story highlighted the vulnerability of the Ioniq 5’s wiring harness below the Ioniq 5’s seat by referencing another owner who was left with a five figure bill for new harnesses after a dealer found his had frayed.

Also: Sure, You Can Replace Ioniq N Brakes, But Only With Hyundai’s $6K Tool Or A $2K Locked Workaround

And that’s not the only unexpected bill some of the EV drivers have come across. If you want to replace your own brake pads on the sporty Ioniq 5 N, maybe after a track day, you need access to special software and tools that can cost thousands of dollars. Some owners suggest cheaper unofficial workarounds, but those come with inherit risks, including the possibility of voiding your warranty or creating even costlier problems if anything goes wrong.

Do you think Hyundai or the insurance company should pay for the repairs to McCormick’s EV, or is it right that he’s being forced to foot the bill? Leave a comment and let us know.

Thanks to Marco for the tip!

Sources: WFTV 9