Top 10 most popular places to take your VW Bus: Celebrating 75 years

A brief history of the VW Bus

The very first VW Bus, officially named the Volkswagen Type 2, rolled off the production line on 8 March 1950 in Wolfsburg, Germany. Designed from a sketch by Dutch importer Ben Pon, who was inspired by a parts mover built on a Beetle chassis, the VW Bus was created to be versatile, practical and fun.

By 1951, the much loved Samba Bus joined the line up, with its two tone paint, panoramic roof and up to 23 windows. Soon after, the Bus moved into mass production at Hanover, and over time it became Europe’s longest-running commercial vehicle, with more than 12.5 million produced across six generations.

In the 1960s and 70s, the Bus became an icon of counterculture. At festivals like Woodstock in 1969, the colourful, flower covered VW Camper became a global symbol of freedom and adventure. Its split windshield design even made it more aerodynamic than the Beetle, and nicknames like “Splitty” and “Bulli” quickly stuck.

The story doesn’t stop there. Volkswagen has continually reinvented the Bus for modern life: the Multivan introduced a plug-in hybrid option in 2021, while the all-electric ID. Buzz arrived in 2022, blending retro charm with future ready sustainability. In 2024, new Transporter and Caravelle models joined the family, showing that 75 years on, the Bus is still moving with the times.

Fun VW Bus facts you might not know

• The first VW Bus was sketched by Ben Pon in 1947, inspired by a simple flatbed parts mover.
  
  
• The name “Bulli” was never officially registered by Volkswagen in 1949 because another company owned the rights, but it stuck with fans anyway.
  
  
• The split windscreen reduced drag from 0.75 to 0.44, making it more efficient than the Beetle.
  
  
• The Samba model, with up to 23 windows, remains one of the most collectible VW Buses ever built.