Volkswagen and Uber team up on robotaxis

The partners want to set up a fleet of thousands of autonomous vehicles in the US over the next decade, based on Volkswagen’s all-electric ID. Buzz. The rollout is due to start in LA later this year.

Of course, the two partners will not use a regular ID. Buzz for the driverless ride service, but the variant ID. Buzz AD. The ‘AD’ stands for ‘Autonomous Driving’. The technology on board was developed by VW subsidiary Moia together with Israeli specialist Mobileye. It corresponds to automation level 4 according to the SAE standard.

The ID. Buzz AD is already being tested in Hamburg, Munich, Oslo and Austin, Texas. The latter is likely to be decisive for the planned launch in the US, which is generally considered more open to robotaxi services than other countries. After all, Google’s sister company Waymo is already active in the US with a robotaxi service in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin.

VW and Uber plan a first pilot for this year, with the commercial launch in Los Angeles scheduled for the end of 2026. From then on, it will be possible to order the vehicles directly via the Uber app. During the initial test and launch phases, the vehicles will still have safety drivers on board. In the long term, however, the vehicles will then operate as genuine robotaxis without safety drivers. However, each step is dependent on the relevant official approvals.

The partnership with Uber has obviously been prepared for a long time – and should certainly be seen as a challenge. In an interview with the German Manager Magazin just a few days ago, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume announced that he wanted to compete with Waymo in the field of autonomous driving. “We see great progress on the way to being able to offer an integrated series solution in the next few years. Comparable to Waymo, but with our own product – the ID.Buzz.”

In today’s press release, Kjell Gruner, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, added: “Volkswagen believes that mobility is transformational. Our partnership with Uber is the next step for us to realize this vision and unleash the potential of autonomous mobility. Through our work with Uber, we’ll introduce the ID. Buzz, the reimagined version of the iconic Microbus in all-electric form, to a growing number of riders in the years to come.”

“This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the advancement of autonomous mobility, and highlights both Volkswagen’s and Uber’s shared dedication to building the future of transportation,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “We can’t wait to launch in Los Angeles late next year.”

vw.com