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Self-driving VW electric minibuses in ride-sharing trial
The driverless future is a step nearer but, for all the scheme’s cleverness, will it reduce traffic as claimed – and do we really want it?
12 May 2021 • 12:00pm
A rendering of VW s autonomous ID Buzz car-pooling vehicle. The consortium plans a fleet of such vehicles in Munich by 2025
There used to be a slightly off-colour joke about heaven being where the British provided the police, the French did the cooking, the Italians were the lovers and the Germans engineered the cars; hell, of course, being a mess-up of these. Yet yesterday Volkswagen eased another nail into the coffin lid of the German privately-owned car, with the announcement of trials of an autonomous (driverless) version of its ID Buzz electric minibus, with the aim of an entire fleet of ride-pooling ID Buzz-style vehicles on Munich’s streets by 2025.
The electric minibus will be tested in six US cities, as well as Munich, Germany
The plan is to add it to the fleet in VW s ride-share service, MOIA
It will have Level 4 autonomy, meaning it s not approved to handle all weather and road conditions
A conventional version of the ID.Buzz is slated to go on sale in the US in 2023.
VW will have an autonomous ID. Buzz taxi on the road by 2025
12 May 2021
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News Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Pocket-lint
(Pocket-lint) - Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has confirmed that it will have autonomous versions of the ID. Buzz on the road by 2025.
Working with Argo AI - a company also working with Ford on self-driving vehicles - VW confirmed that it will be conducting trials on the roads in Germany in 2021. The aim is to develop a ride-hailing and pooling concept similar to what MOIA [a ride-sharing service available in Hamburg and Hanover] offers today. In the middle of this decade, our customers will then have the opportunity to be taken to their destination in selected cities with autonomous vehicles, said Christian Senger, head of autonomous driving at VW Commercial Vehicles.
VW and Argo AI Will Begin Testing Level 4 Autonomous Ev Vans This Summer
Autonomous ridepooling vans expected by 2025, at least in Hamburg. Argo AI
VW will begin testing an ID. Buzz equipped with Argo AI sensors in Munich this summer, ahead of an expected rollout of Level 4 tech in 2025.
Wolfsburg expects commercial vehicles, such as delivery vehicles and ridepooling vans, to benefit from Level 4 tech first.
Robotaxis are currently being tested in some limited areas, but Uber and Lyft have just sold their autonomous research divisions.
It was just under two years ago that Volkswagen announced a $2.6 billion investment into Argo AI, an autonomous tech developer, and the fruits of their collaboration are about to begin testing. Specifically, the ID. Buzz prototypes headed into production in the near future will serve as the testbed for Level 4 autonomous systems, with Wolfsburg betting that light commercial vehicles will be the first logical application of high levels of autonom