An electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz completed a 99,767-kilometre journey across 92 countries and six continents and, after 445 days on the road, succeeded in receiving a Guinness World Record.
Rainer Zeitlo, a German long-distance driver, drove this mass-produced electric van from Hanover, Germany, around the world and back.
Guinness recognized the trip in the category “most countries visited on a continuous trip in a battery electric vehicle” and presented the certificate at the 2026 International Transport Fair in Hanover.
Zeitlo started the trip on 1 July 2025 from the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles customer centre in Hanover, where the ID. Buzz is produced. Over the following 445 days, the van crossed six continents and passed through major cities, deserts, mountainous regions and areas with very different levels of electric-vehicle infrastructure.
The journey covered 99,767 kilometres and included more than 300 charging cycles. Since the route crossed oceans, the vehicle was transported 16 times by container ship. According to Volkswagen and Zeitlo, the vehicle completed the trip without technical failure. This claim is notable given the range of conditions it encountered, although this experience represents only a single vehicle.
According to ITNA and citing Interesting Engineering, perhaps the most interesting technical result came after the trip. After the ID. Buzz returned to Germany, the TÜV NORD technical inspection organisation assessed the high-voltage battery’s voltage and recorded 95.75 percent health after about 100,000 kilometres and more than 300 charging cycles.
Of course, this figure should not be taken as a guarantee for all ID. Buzz batteries, because battery degradation depends on factors such as temperature, charging behaviour and usage patterns.