The Volkswagen Westfalia Camper ceased production in 2003, but board member Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser revealed that the bus will be coming back as an electric vehicle.
Though images of the new vehicle have yet to be released, Neusser explained that the Camper will have a small electric motor to power the front wheels; the batter packs will be under the floor. He added that it will feature three key design cues, reminicent of the VW Bus, “first the wide, solid, D-Pillar, second the boxy design of the center section and, thirdly, the front end must have a very short overhang. The distance from the A-pillar to the front end must be very short.”
The original vehicle looking something like this
There is no certainty this will hit the market, according to Neusser, but with an attractive enough cost-base it most definitely will.
And demand. Would you drive one? If they had solar panels in the 60’s…
Volkswagen has also released two othe campers in recent years, the Microbus
and the Bulli
Volkswagen has also announced it will be investing $10 million in electric charging infrastructure by 2016.
Here are some images of Volkswagen’s Bulli, inside and out, with some swanky jazz music
Image Credit: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-new-york-motor-show/volkswagen-camper-return-electric-vehicle 
http://inhabitat.com/classic-vw-camper-van-to-be-revived-as-a-battery-electric-vehicle/
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I support what you guys are trying to accomplish. However, if you think that electric cars have anything to do with “sustainable” technology, you are extremely ignorant and misinformed. Where do the materials to make the batteries come from? How long do the batteries actually last? How much does a new battery replacement cost? Then, of course, if you’re charging your car at a station that is powered by coal . . . well I’m sure you can figure it out. I’ll give you an A for effort.
Although I agree it does suck that many power plants in America and in the world run on non renewable sources – this doesn’t belittle the shift and move away from fossil fuels in our personal vehicles! Sure batteries and EVERYTHING we ever pull out of the ground could be traced back to some understanding of being unsustainable – but if we are going to go to that level then we might as well all just stop using computers and cellphones for which we are reading this right now too as such also has negative qualities to it.
We have to be realistic when it comes to “sustainability” and realize that certain ideas and technologies are stepping stones into better ones and at least moving us closer towards the culture and mindset that will breed those ideas and not stay stuck on the old ones which are very directly destroying our planet.
The solution isn’t just held in the electric car but across the board in all fields of study and life. Won’t stop me from celebrating a small step in the right direction.
To claim being misinformed though is silly – its a post that unfortunately I cannot cover the depth of ALL the worlds problems and complexity surrounding this issue in without writing a bible sized book to begin to even scratch the surface. We aren’t ignorant – but we must celebrate the steps in the right direction or else people will cease to take them. The psychology of change is what fuels it further.
But that’s my point. It’s NOT a step in the right direction. The fact that you think it is proves your ignorance. We’re talking about thermodynamics. We’re talking about energy. We’re talking about the limits to growth. We’re talking about finite resources. More technology is not the answer. Read some Richard Heinberg, read some John Michael Greer, read the book Energy for Future Presidents. Then your eyes will be open.
To claim that others are ignorant and that my eyes need to be open only displays your own closed mind.
Just because you hold a believe does not mean I need to as well. I don’t think that less technology is the answer. IT would be if we all adopted it but we won’t so if you want to talk about realistic answers then we can chat otherwise people are gonna keep buying technology and companies are gonna keep building them until the planet is destroyed. So we might as well build smarter better technologies and find ways to mitigate the risks.
The solutions lie in both directions. If we have learnt anything from history it’s that we have learnt nothing at all. We will pillage and use everything we have as long as we have it – and the only scenario where we avoid disaster for a little while longer is we make better decisions with what we pillage with for now.