A fleet of black and yellow Volkswagen ID. Buzzes is about to become a much more common sight in Austin, Texas. That’s because the automaker is using these 10 vehicles as part of its first autonomous vehicle test program in the U.S. The vehicles are equipped with autonomous driving software developed by VW, with the help of Mobileye. To help them navigate Austin’s streets, the Level 4 autonomous ID. Buzzes have a suite of cameras, radar sensors, and LiDAR sensors, as well as (for the first phase of testing, anyway) a human operator to bail them out in the event of trouble.
The latest push in Volkswagen’s global
effort to develop autonomous driving technology, the company plans to use the
ID. Buzzes to learn American driving styles and collect data. Over the next
three years, it plans to grow the test fleet, and expand it to at least four
other cities in the US. By 2026, VW expects to be far enough along with the
testing to launch commercial operations in Austin. The automaker is planning to
offer its vehicles to companies in the mobility and transportation spaces.
However, it does not plan to start its own ride hailing service at this time.
Volkswagen will compete against companies
like GM’s Cruise, Google’s Waymo, and others in developing autonomous vehicles
for the U.S. market. However, those companies have a head start in terms of
U.S. testing, having operated in cities like San Francisco and Las Vegas for
several years now.
