A standard Volkswagen ID.Buzz has set the world record for the most countries visited in a continuous journey by an electric car – covering 61,992 miles across 92 countries in 445 days, including “more than 300” charging cycles.

The Buzz, running on stock Giti tyres, left the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Customer Centre in Hanover, Germany, on 1 July 2025 and returned to the same point earlier this week. Technical inspection service TÜV Nord, which assessed the vehicle on its return, certified the battery state of health at almost 96 per cent.

The man behind the mission, Rainer Zietlow, claims the van suffered “no technical problems” during the mammoth 100,000km journey, despite traversing what he called some “genuinely difficult regions” and encountering “very different traffic conditions”.

Zietlow said: “The fact that I never had any technical problems: for me, that is the decisive point. 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.”