Volkswagen ID Buzz sets Guinness World Record for round-the-world EV drive

Volkswagen ID Buzz achieved a Guinness World Record by completing a round-the-world drive powered by electricity.

THRIVE Newsdesk · Vehicles & Launches · Issue 13Published
Volkswagen ID Buzz sets Guinness World Record for round-the-world EV drive
Illustration generated for THRIVE

Volkswagen's ID Buzz electric van has set a Guinness World Record after completing a round-the-world drive powered entirely by electricity.

The journey covered 99,767 kilometres (62,000 miles) across 92 countries and six continents over 445 days, according to Electric Cars Report. The van, a Volkswagen ID.Buzz Pro LWB with an 86 kWh battery and 498 km WLTP range, was driven by German long-distance driver Rainer Zietlow.

The vehicle completed more than 300 charging cycles and was transported between continents by 16 container ships, with no technical breakdowns recorded during the entire trip, according to Electrek. Testing body TÜV Nord certified that the battery retained 95.75% state of health at the end of the journey.

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Zietlow said the drive was his biggest project in 20 years and, at one year and four months, the longest he has undertaken. The Guinness certificate was presented by Lena Kuhlmann at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover.

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