Volkswagen and Uber to deploy thousands of ID. Buzz robotaxi’s in the U.S.

Volkswagen is stepping deeper into the autonomous driving race, announcing plans to bring a fleet of self-driving ID to market. Buzz electric vans through a new partnership with Uber. The German automaker aims to supply thousands of autonomous vehicles for Uber’s ride-hailing platform across the U.S. over the next decade, beginning with Los Angeles in 2026.

At his earnings call this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors that his company would practically own the U.S. market for autonomous driving. His words were barely cold as Volkswagen announced a groundbreaking deal with Uber to challenge the industry leaders in the growing robotaxi space. Next to Tesla, this further concerns Waymo. Clearly, competitors are not willing to hand over the market just like that.

L.A. as a pilot city

The announced new project will lean on Volkswagen’s U.S.-based autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Volkswagen ADMT (Autonomous Driving Mobility & Transport), and the company’s Hamburg-based mobility division MOIA. Together, they will provide the vans and the full stack of self-driving software to power Uber’s next generation of ride-hailing services.

Los Angeles will serve as the pilot city for the commercial rollout. Testing will begin later this year, pending regulatory approval from California authorities—initially, the autonomous ID. Buzz vans will feature human safety operators behind the wheel to oversee the system and ensure safety. Volkswagen expects fully driverless operations to follow in 2027, after it secures the necessary permits from the official departments in California.

“This partnership with Uber accelerates our vision of shaping the future of mobility,” Christian Senger, CEO of Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility, said in a statement. “We’re combining Volkswagen’s manufacturing scale and technology with Uber’s deep knowledge of urban ride-hailing to offer a new kind of service.”

Geo-fenced scenario

The ID. Buzz AD, an iteration of Volkswagen’s legendary microbus and a much-beloved icon in the U.S., has been retrofitted with an array of autonomous driving technologies, including hardware from field specialist Mobileye. Last year, Volkswagen became the first automaker to develop a Level 4 autonomous service vehicle for large-scale production. Level 4 means the car can handle most driving scenarios independently within a defined geographic area.

Volkswagen has been laying the groundwork for this expansion for years, so the partnership doesn’t exactly qualify as thunder in clear skies. In 2023, the automaker launched a pilot program in Austin with a fleet of ten autonomous ID Buzz vans. This phase followed Volkswagen’s broader autonomous testing efforts in Hamburg, Germany, which continue to inform the technology behind this initiative.

Volkswagen in the lead?

For Uber, this partnership must stretch its strategy in the autonomous ride-hailing space. The company has struck deals with over 14 autonomous technology firms spanning ride-hailing, delivery, and logistics. Most recently, Uber expanded its robotaxi service with Waymo in Austin, providing driverless Jaguar i-Pace models. Right in the middle of Tesla’s home turf, its headquarters are in this Texas city.

Though the American EV maker wants to roll out the Cybercab next year, its timeline on the Robovan – a more direct competitor to the Volkswagen ID. Buzz is less pronounced. The new deal with Uber could bring the German car maker ahead in scaling up autonomous van services.