• Continuation of years of collaboration in the field of electromobility

• Key component in achieving fleet sustainability goals

The Gütersloh-based Miele company, the world's leading premium manufacturer of domestic appliances and commercial machines, is one of the first companies to use Volkswagen's new ID. Buzz Cargo in after-sales service. Five fully electric vehicles will be deployed by Miele in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Norway and Spain as soon as sales commence. These vehicles have been customised to cater for the particular needs of Miele service. Additional vehicles are scheduled to be commissioned in 2023. This is a further step towards gradually converting the Miele Group's worldwide vehicle pool to run on renewable sources of energy in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 30% by 2030.

'Both companies are united by a long-standing partnership which began back in the Fifties with the first T1 vans', says Axel Kniehl, Executive Director Marketing & Sales with the Miele Group, at the IAA Transportation in Hanover. 'It now gives us great pleasure to continue our collaboration in the field of electromobility'. With the ID. Buzz from Volkswagen, Miele has at its disposal a fully electric vehicle which will be used primarily in conurbations as a service van and is also in big demand from Miele's international sales subsidiaries. 'Miele and Volkswagen represent a cooperation between two strong brands with a long tradition, which both develop products to simplify and enhance the lives of customers', claims Axel Kniehl.

For Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, collaboration with Miele in launching the ID. Buzz Cargo represents an important milestone. Lars Krause, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: 'We are extremely pleased that the ID. Buzz Cargo is following in the footsteps of its predecessors. Miele is one of the first customers for which we have customised our electric van. With the ID. Buzz, we are offering the ideal vehicle to commercial customers accompanying us on our journey towards sustainable mobility'.

Gradual conversion of Miele fleet to alternative drive systems

Miele has set itself the goal of reducing direct CO2 emissions (Scope 1) as well as indirect CO2 emissions (Scope 2) by 50% by 2030 compared with 2019. In these efforts, a key role is played by alternative drive systems as 41% of the company's Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are attributable to the vehicle fleet. The aim is to reduce these by at least 30% by 2030 compared with 2019. 'One significant lever is the fleet of just under 900 vehicles used by our service operation here in Germany and 2700 service vehicles worldwide. Over the coming years, we intend to purchase many fully electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles', Axel Kniehl explains.

Moreover, Miele revised its car policy last year and is now offering employees at least one electric model in each vehicle category as company cars. With a concept resting on three pillars, Miele is ensuring that the new electric vehicles can also be recharged without fuss. This ranges from access to over 130,000 public charging points to recharging at employees' places of work with certified green electricity from a local utility or installing wallbox chargers at employees' homes.

Volkswagen's ID. Buzz Cargo meets the exacting demands of Miele Service

Crucial to the selection of Volkswagen's ID. Buzz Cargo as a service van at Miele was, among other aspects, the combination of driver comfort, an ergonomic and appealing interior, ample storage space, range, load capacity and the flexibility to install Miele's own shelving systems. Indeed, the ID. Buzz Cargo, built at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, has a range of up to 425 km and a load volume of 3.9 m³. The vehicle's maximum load capacity is 650 kg. The ID. Buzz Cargo will be equipped with interior fixtures specifically designed for Miele Service. These include a rack system for storing tools, materials and spare parts as well as a central console replete with a tray table from which the driver can work.

A further benefit: To ensure that Miele technicians are best equipped for the next day's service calls, necessary spare parts are shipped straight to service vehicles overnight by Miele's central logistics centre. In the past, this required the use of several keys per vehicle; now this is fully digital in the case of the ID. Buzz Cargo. And besides its technical refinement, the successor to the legendary T1 offers a further advantage: Whether T1, T2, T3 or any other model – almost everyone associates some memorable and emotional moment in life with vans and people carriers from Volkswagen, making a call by a service technician in an ID. Buzz Cargo a very special occasion.

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, air purifiers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2021 business year amounted to around € 4.84 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 22,300, of which approx. 11,200 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.