Volkswagen has launched its first autonomous driving test program in the United States.
The program kicked off in Austin, Texas, this month with two all-electric ID. Buzz vehicles. If you’re not familiar, the ID.Buzz is the brand’s reimagined VW Bus. The 60s-inspired bus is expected to arrive in the United States next year and has three rows of seating with six- and seven-seat configurations. While the program kicked off with two of the vehicles, 10 are expected to hit the road in Austin by the end of the year.
(Credit: Volkswagen)The electric buses will be outfitted with Volkswagen’s autonomous driving technology, which it developed in partnership with Mobileye and will come outfitted with cameras, radar, and LiDAR technology. The vehicles won’t hit the road on their own at first; human drivers will supervise the vehicle’s autonomous driving, ready to step in if needed.
Vehicles will only be able to operate in a geofenced area downtown, which has already been thoroughly mapped by Volkswagen.
The company plans to ultimately grow the fleet of vehicles in Austin as well as roll out its testing program to at least four more American cities over the next three years and aims to launch a commercial fleet of autonomous vehicles in Austin by 2026.
In Austin, Volkswagen wants to “test, validate and refine [the] technology, [and] bring us closer to establishing commercially available transportation offerings and eventually grow the diverse mobility portfolio for the Volkswagen Group," says Christian Senger, a member of the board of management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with responsibility for the development of autonomous driving.
Volkswagen isn’t the first company to use Austin as an autonomous vehicle testing ground. Alphabet's Waymo, General Motors' Cruise, and Ford's now-defunct Argo division also used the city to test their driverless vehicles.