Volkswagen's all-electric ID. Buzz is now sold as a package that includes an Ohme Home Pro smart charger, Ohme announced in November 2022. The arrangement follows a partnership between the smart charging company and Volkswagen announced the previous month, and applies to customers who finance an ID. Buzz or ID. Buzz Cargo1.
The ID. Buzz has a 77kWh battery and a WLTP range of more than 250 miles1. Ohme states that charging from zero to 100 per cent using an Ohme Home Pro combined with a smart off-peak tariff from Octopus could cost £7.70, against more than £26 on the Standard Variable Tariff. Its footnote gives the rates behind that comparison as Octopus Intelligent at 10p per kW and the Standard Variable Tariff at 34p per kW1.
Ohme describes the Home Pro as able to connect with the national grid in real time and automatically adjust charging so drivers can use periods of low-price charging on smart off-peak tariffs. It also states that drivers can charge when renewable generation on the National Grid is at its highest1.
"The ID. Buzz is one of the most exciting new EVs on the market and together with our Home Pro this is a great package for a new car buyer."
Ohme states it is the official charger provider for Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in the UK, and for customers on the Motability scheme. It also states it has been named Best Electric Charging Point Provider by Business Motoring1.
Why it matters for households
A smart EV charger that shifts charging into off-peak windows is the main lever a household has over what an electric car costs to run at home, because the unit rate at those hours is lower than the standard variable rate. The £7.70 figure quoted for a full charge depends on combining the charger with a specific Octopus off-peak tariff, so it reflects that pairing rather than the charger alone1.
Bundling the charger into the finance package changes how the hardware is paid for, rather than how the electricity is priced. The charger itself is a fixed piece of home equipment, and its value to a household rests on the tariff it is paired with and the times it can charge. Ohme's claim that the Home Pro can charge when national grid renewable generation is highest points to the same mechanism: timing, not just volume, determines both cost and carbon1.
For a home's wider energy position, an EV charger is a load that can be scheduled. Whether that battery can also serve the house is a separate question, covered in our guide to using an EV battery as home backup. Nothing in the announcement addresses vehicle-to-home or backup use1.
What happens next
No end date for the bundled package, no pricing for the charger as a standalone item and no take-up figures have been reported1.