Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) will begin its first autonomous vehicle testing program in Austin in July 2023.
Thanks to: Vokswagen AG
Volkswagen said Thursday it will begin testing self-driving electric vehicles in Austin, Texas, later this month.
The German auto giant said it will deploy about 10 of its ID Buzz electric vans equipped with autonomous driving systems developed with Mobileye by the end of 2023. The first two of those vans are already in the US and will begin testing before the end of July, it said.
The self-driving ID Buzz vans are equipped with lidar, radar and camera systems. The vehicles are “geofented,” meaning they will only drive in specific areas of the city that have been carefully mapped, Volkswagen said.
For now, all of its self-driving vehicles will have drivers on board for human safety during testing.
“We selected Austin as the first hub in the U.S. because the city has a track record of embracing innovation and provides a favorable environment for autonomous vehicle testing,” said Katrin Lohmann, the executive who leading Volkswagen’s self-driving efforts in the US.
Lohmann said the company expects to expand its Austin fleet and add test operations in at least four other U.S. cities over the next three years.
Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) will begin its first autonomous vehicle testing program in Austin in July 2023.
Thanks to: Vokswagen AG
The move is the latest in a series of steps the auto giant has taken in recent months to revamp its self-driving strategy, including a deeper partnership with Mobileye and new investment in MOIA, its Europe-based ride-sharing service.
While the company has been working on a robotaxi service in Europe, it is not planning its own ride-sharing service in the US as of now. Instead, it plans to offer autonomous ID Buzz vans and fleet management capabilities to other companies that offer ridesharing or delivery services.
Together with Ford engine, Volkswagen was an investor in the now-defunct Pittsburgh-based self-driving startup Argo AI. For a time, Argo was considered a leader in the race to develop fully autonomous vehicles, but Ford and Volkswagen decided to wind down the company in October 2022, citing rising costs and disagreements over strategy.
Ford launched a new subsidiary called Latitude AI in March to expand its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system. That unit includes about 550 employees who previously worked for Argo AI.
Volkswagen has also hired a number of former employees of Argo AI for its self-driving car efforts in the US.
Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) will begin its first autonomous vehicle testing program in Austin in July 2023.
Thanks to: Vokswagen AG