A new van for camping is on the way.

VW has announced a new California based on the Multivan. Premiere will be celebrated this year.

The next generation of the popular VW California camper van is moving to the MQB (modular transverse construction kit) car architecture. In the course of the year, the new California will be presented on the basis of the Multivan.

Four California models

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has now announced this as part of the presentation of its business figures for 2022. Digital services relating to recreational vehicles and campervans are also to be combined and expanded under the name “California Universe”.
The current range includes the Caddy California, which is optionally available with a kitchen module, the California based on the VW T6.1 and the large Grand California, which uses the VW Crafter as a basis. Production of the T6.1 will end in 2024, and the successor will be developed in cooperation with Ford on the basis of the new Transit Custom presented at the Commercial Vehicles IAA. In addition to combustion engines, the new generation will also be available as a fully electric variant, which is sorted above the VW ID.Buzz and its Cargo variant.

The California program will be expanded to four series in the future. A leisure version with the traditional name has already been announced for the electric ID.Buzz. Before that, the long version of the van will start with up to seven seats, which will then also focus on the US market.

In the video: VW Multivan Edition

Other plans by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles include the Caddy as a plug-in hybrid. In contrast to the competitors in the high-roof segment such as Renault (Kangoo) and Stellantis (Citroën Berlingo, Fiat Doblo, Opel Combo, Peugeot Partner / Rifter), there will be no purely electric version of it in the foreseeable future.

In addition to the Amarok and Ranger pick-ups and the new transporters, the VW Caddy is also part of the cooperation between Volkswagen and Ford. It is also available as a Ford Transit or Tourneo Connect with only slight visual changes.