Spy shots of the 2021 Volkswagen Transporter (T7).

Volkswagen is developing an electric successor to its iconic microbus based on the 2017 ID Buzz concept car, which has been confirmed to reach the U.S. around 2022.

At the same time as the new electric van is being developed, however, a new generation of VW's popular Transporter series of vans sold abroad is being developed.

The sixth generation Transporter, the T6, was updated just last year. However, it has been in production since 2015 and will be due for a model change in the not-too-distant future.

It is not surprising, then, that a prototype of the T7, the seventh generation transporter, is already in the world. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will be launched locally, but it should be in dealerships in other regions in late 2020 or early the following year.

The T7 is expected to have a longer wheelbase and longer front overhangs than the T6 generation. Meanwhile, evolved styling is also planned, with the new face expected to be inspired by the 2016 Budd-e Concept. Unlike the battery-powered Budd-e, the new Transporter will be available with plug-in hybrid and pure internal combustion powertrain options. This will help differentiate it from its electric microbus successor.

VW's Transporter series is actually a direct successor to the Microbus, with the original T1 generation first sold here as a bus. As noted above, VW has no plans to sell its latest Transporter locally, which makes sense given its plans to sell an ID Buzz-based electric van locally. It's a real shame. We test drove the T6 generation of the California trim last year and found it to be the perfect companion for the van-life scene.