Those in Austin, Texas will be seeing 10 units of the self-driving Volkswagen ID. Buzz roaming their streets starting this month. The 10 units of the all-electric ID. Buzz are SAE L4 autonomous vehicles that have been developed by Volkswagen and Mobileye.
It is the first time that Volkswagen is testing its autonomous driving system in America, but not the first time in the world. Back in April 2022, Volkswagen had already begun public road-testing of its autonomous driving system in Munich, also with the ID. Buzz. The 10 units in Austin are part of a pilot program and Volkswagen plans to grow this fleet and expand into other cities in America.
Volkswagen Group of America President (VWGoA) and CEO, Pablo Di Si said, “We are thrilled to bring our exciting ID. Buzz vehicles to American roads. Expanding Volkswagen Group’s global autonomous driving vehicle program to the United States marks an important milestone for us. In the future, we will tap into rising demand for new mobility services, and with our iconic ID. Buzz, we will also offer a truly captivating product to support transportation services American consumers can rely upon and trust.”
To support the rollout of its autonomous driving vehicle program, VWGoA has established a new subsidiary named Volkswagen ADMT (LLC). IN case you were wondering, ADMT stands for Autonomous Driving Mobility & Transport. The new subsidiary also aims to employ those who worked with Argo AI (A Volkswagen and Ford-backed AI company that has been shut down).
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VWGoA aims to offer fleets of specially designed autonomous Volkswagen ID. Buzz vehicles as a comprehensive service including fleet management and remote guidance solutions to other leading companies in the mobility and transportation space, and establish long-term partnerships. VWGoA is not building a dedicated ride-hailing or ride-sharing service on its own at this time.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Member of the board of management, Christian Senger said, “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. 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.”
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