Volkswagen plans to test an autonomous vehicle fleet in Austin, Texas, starting this month with 10 all-electric ID.Buzz vehicles outfitted with autonomous driving technology from Mobileye.
Over the next three years, VW plans to grow its test fleet in Austin and expand operations to at least four more U.S. cities. This will be a testbed before VW commercially launches its autonomous driving technology in vehicles in Austin by 2026.
The move comes after VW, along with Ford, discontinued its joint investment with Argo AI for robotaxi technology. VW then opted to use Mobileye’s autonomous driving technology that matched its current goals to include Level 2+ and Level 3 automated technology in future vehicles.
The company has established a subsidiary in the U.S. called Volkswagen ADMT to support the test program and its initial rollout of its autonomous vehicle program, which will include members who worked at Argo AI.
The ID.Buzz vehicles were specifically designed as service vehicles with fleet management and remote guidance solutions for the mobility and transportation space. VW said it does not have any plans to build dedicated ride hailing or ride sharing services on its own at this time.
The Buzz vehicles will collect data when driven across numerous driving scenarios. The vehicles are equipped with autonomous driving technology platform developed by VW and Mobility that includes:
- Cameras
- Radar
- Lidar
During the tests, vehicles will be staffed with human drivers.
“Expanding our autonomous vehicle program to the North American Region is the next step in our global strategic roadmap, and the result of a long-term collaborative investment,” said Christian Senger, member of the board of management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. “Moving into this next phase will help us test, validate and refine technology, bring us closer to establishing commercially available transportation offerings and eventually grow the diverse mobility portfolio for the Volkswagen Group.”
