World record with the ID. Buzz: Around the world all-electric – and then through inspection without a single complaint

From Hannover to every corner of the world – and back again: after 445 days, 92 countries and 99,767 kilometres, long-distance driver Rainer Zietlow has returned from his circumnavigation of the globe in an all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz with long wheelbase. He has now been officially honored for the journey with a new Guinness World Record. The certificate for the category “Most countries visited in a continuous journey by a battery powered electric vehicle” was presented by Guinness World Records representative Lena Kuhlmann at the IAA Transportation 2026.

Zietlow set off in the summer of 2025 from the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Customer Centre in Hannover – which is also the birthplace of the vehicle. Since then, the route has taken the ID. Buzz, running on standard-production Giti Tire tires, across six continents: through major cities, deserts and mountain ranges, with more than 300 charging cycles under the most varied climatic conditions and 16 crossings by container ship.

For Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, one result matters above all: the ID. Buzz completed the entire world tour without a single technical breakdown. Following its return, TÜV Nord also certified a state of health of the high-voltage battery of 95.75 per cent for the electric Bulli.

Rainer Zietlow in an interview: “I had no technical problems!“

Question: Rainer, the journey has only just come to an end. Looking back on the record journey in the ID. Buzz, what stands out most to you?
Rainer Zietlow: “Right now I am simply proud. This was my biggest project in 20 years and, at one year and four months, also the longest I have ever undertaken – and that does not even include the six months of intensive planning. Since 2005 I have exclusively run projects with Volkswagen models, and the ID. Buzz World Tour is a highlight of my career – not least because it was the first time we visited all of the brand’s key markets fully electrically. I am particularly proud that we came through this high mileage without any technical problems, and that through genuinely difficult regions. You have to be able to adapt to very different traffic conditions – and two decades of experience help with that.

Question: Almost 100,000 kilometres in the ID. Buzz: what convinced you most about the vehicle?
Rainer Zietlow: “The fact that I never had any technical problems. For me, that is the decisive point. At the end of the tour this was also confirmed by german TÜV Nord, which inspected the vehicle before and after the journey. On a trip like this, the difference between a combustion engine and an electric vehicle is noticeable. In many parts of the world, diesel fuel can contain high sulphur levels or water contamination, several oil changes are required and there is also the risk of the engine overheating – all of that is eliminated with an electric vehicle. Of course, you have to charge and clarify the availability of charging points in advance. But if you take that into account, you are better off with an electric car. And the world record was driven in a series-production ID. Buzz – and that is precisely the real message for buyers: it works!”

Question: You covered 92 countries with more than 300 charging stops. What is your impression of the state of electric mobility worldwide?
Rainer Zietlow: “Very mixed. In parts of Africa there is virtually no charging infrastructure – in countries such as Zambia or Tanzania there was simply nothing available, so I charged at national substations under supervision. South Africa, Morocco and Rwanda, by contrast, already work well. In Rwanda I once drove to an airport at an altitude of 2,000 metres and suddenly found myself in front of a whole row of ID. Buzz being used as shuttle taxis – that was almost surreal. Other regions have caught up enormously: in Saudi Arabia there were not many charging stations three years ago, today it is almost as good there as in Germany. South America, above all Brazil and Chile, is also making very strong progress, and China is in a league of its own anyway – there, electric mobility is part of everyday life. The bottom line: it is increasing worldwide, and in many regions it is being built very quickly.”

Question: Your Guinness World Record award stands for the most countries visited in a single journey with an electric vehicle – what does this title mean to you?
Rainer Zietlow: “Among all record institutions, Guinness is the benchmark and a globally established brand. It includes many amusing records, but there are also records with real substance, and I count this circumnavigation among them. For me personally, it is the ninth Guinness record with vehicles from Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. This world record demanded a great deal of the car. And the ID. Buzz delivered; not on a closed circuit, but all the way around the world.”

Question: Looking back on 445 days: what does the ID. Buzz World Tour stand for and what remains?
Rainer Zietlow: “What remains is first of all the Guinness world record – and a great many memories. For electric mobility, the world tour is above all a signal: the world is becoming increasingly accessible for electric mobility, and the gap to the combustion engine is getting smaller. If the solid-state battery arrives at some point, along with very fast hyper-charging, then a great deal more will be possible. At some point, in the not-too-distant future, the combustion engine will be to us what the horse-drawn carriage once was. And I believe that journeys like the ID. Buzz World Tour, and the emotions behind them, are still very important to car buyers.”

Record vehicle at the IAA Transportation

Anyone wishing to experience the world record ID. Buzz up close still has the opportunity to do so until the end of the IAA Transportation 2026: the vehicle is on display at the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles outdoor stand in front of Hall 12 at the Hannover exhibition grounds.

D. Buzz World Tour 2025/2026 – the key facts