VW will start the first tests for autonomous driving in Germany in 2021, relying on the E-Auto ID, which has been announced for some time. Buzz. The tests will take place near Munich, with the US company Argo AI and VW subsidiary MOIA. First place of use for the autonomous ID. Buzz fleet should be Hamburg.

VW tests self-driving e-cars in Munich

VW will start testing autonomous driving this year. The Wolfsburg-based carmaker recently announced this. This is interesting from two points of view, because the cooperation between VW Nutzfahrzeuge (VWN), the VW subsidiary MOIA and Argo Ai, who are working on the development of a self-driving system, is testing for the first time in Germany. In addition, as first autonomous vehicle on the long-awaited ID. Buzz – the electric new edition of the Bullis.

The tests are carried out on a test field near Munich Airport. For the test drives, Argo already has a prototype of the ID. Buzz AD equipped with the appropriate technology, as a concept image shows. You bet on a mixture Radar sensors and multiple cameras on the car, too Lidar scanner should be used. The self-driving cars use this to analyze their surroundings.

The ID. Buzz AD with autonomous technology. Image: MOIA.

Market launch for MOIA’s autonomous e-car fleet planned for 2025

Special tests for European traffic are to be carried out in Munich. VW, MOIA and Argo explain this in a joint Press release. “Our goal is to use the autonomous version of the ID. BUZZ to enable commercial use in driving and delivery services from 2025“, Says Christian Senger, Head of Autonomous Driving at VWN. It should start in Hamburg.

Targeted according to current planning autonomous driving at level 4. So there would still be a driver, he or she but does not have to actively intervene in the action. For the first commercial use of the autonomous ID. Buzz fleet is MOIA on board. You can book a trip using the app, and other passengers can get on along the way. An algorithm calculates routes, entry and exit points in order to optimize journeys across the entire fleet. VW is also working on optimizing its e-cars in other ways. Their batteries could support the power grid in the future.