Fully autonomous ID. Buzz AD from VW subsidiary Moia is now ready for series production
It became clear that Volkswagen has big plans in the field of autonomous vehicles when it announced its partnership with Uber in April: together, VW, Moia and Uber want to build a fleet of thousands of robotaxis in the USA over the next ten years. This is a challenge to Google’s sister company Waymo, which already offers robotaxi services in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin.
VW and its technology subsidiary Moia have now taken a significant step forward. The ID. Buzz AD (‘AD’ stands for Autonomous Driving), which has already been extensively trialled in the aforementioned cities, is now ready for series production. The vehicle is not aimed at private customers, but at operators of autonomous mobility services.
The vehicle is one component of a comprehensive overall solution, which, in addition to the ID. Buzz AD, as well as a software ecosystem and services for operators of autonomous mobility services. Moia wants to offer public and private operators a turnkey solution to establish autonomous services quickly, safely and scalably.
However, the fact that this offer is by no means just from any VW subsidiary, but is highly positioned within the Group, is made clear by the fact that Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume personally commented on it: “With our fully autonomous complete solution, we are creating a mobility offering that is unique in this form: cities, municipalities, and fleet operators can provide autonomous mobility for all simply and reliably. Our driverless ID. Buzz shuttles are part of a fully connected 360-degree package made up of leading technology, an attractive vehicle fleet, intelligent fleet management, and a customer-centric booking system—all from a single source and quickly scalable to fleet size on the road,” said Blume. He added: “This positions the Volkswagen Group among the frontrunners in a multi-billion-dollar global growth market. Hamburg is our starting point. Beginning in 2026, we will bring sustainable, autonomous mobility to large-scale deployment in Europe and the US, another milestone on our path to becoming a global technology driver in the automotive industry.”
By the starting point in Hamburg, Blume is referring to Moia’s involvement in the ALIKE project in the Hanseatic city. An autonomous on-demand ridepooling service is soon to be launched there, with an operating area stretching from Stadtpark to the Elbe and from Schlump to Wandsbek. Moia will not only provide several ID. Buzz AD vehicles, but also a ridepooling system that will bring together various operators and vehicles in the course of the project to create an overall service. The Holon Urban, which originated from a project by automotive supplier Benteler, is also being used as a second vehicle type in this project.
Moia’s complete package bundles all the components needed to turn an autonomous vehicle such as the ID. Buzz AD into a ready-to-use mobility system. The vehicle operates at SAE automation level 4, which means that it does not require a safety driver on board, but is only allowed to drive within a limited operating area. The system fulfils regulatory requirements, for example, for remote monitoring and the safe handling of exceptional situations such as rescue operations.
With a total of 27 sensors – including 13 cameras, nine LiDARs and five radars – the ID. Buzz AD generates a comprehensive, redundant 360-degree image of its surroundings. These sensors are coupled with a system for autonomous driving from Mobileye in Israel and a specially developed Autonomous Driving Mobility as a Service (AD MaaS) ecosystem platform.
The software uses artificial intelligence to control fleets in real time, provides automated passenger support, monitors safety and integrates seamlessly into existing booking apps.
Moia also offers what is known as ‘operator enablement’. The aim is to enable operators of mobility services to implement and operate an ecosystem for autonomous driving, from simulation and training to operational start-up and live monitoring in everyday life.
At the UITP Summit in Hamburg this week, Moia also presented a comprehensive simulation of the potential of autonomous ridepooling in Germany. The analysis is based on mobile phone data and shows that 300,000 autonomous vehicles could enable 12 million journeys a day with average waiting times of ten minutes across the country. The potential: up to 5 million tonnes of CO₂ savings per year. “Our data-driven model demonstrates how autonomous fleets can sustainably improve mobility across Germany without requiring new infrastructure,” says Dr Felix Zwick, Team Lead Mobility Consulting at Moia.
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