Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) is to test its self-driving ID Buzz AD electric van for the first time under realistic conditions and with passengers on board.
"We want to offer test drives for customers in Hamburg this year - under real conditions," announced Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles chief executive Carsten Intra at VWN's annual press conference in Hanover on Thursday.
The company plans to start the tests in the second half of the year. Initially, however, it will only be a trial run with selected users. The service will eventually go into full operation through the Group subsidiary Moia.
Test drives with the ID Buzz, which has been converted into a robot taxi, were launched in 2021, initially in Munich and later also in Hamburg. The results have been very encouraging, said Intra.
So far, however, the ID Buzz AD vehicles have been travelling through cities without passengers. The test operation with selected passengers is intended to determine how the service is received by normal users under real road conditions.
"If we are satisfied with the feedback, we will then open it up to everyone." However, this will not happen until 2026. A safety driver will initially be on board for the test drives, but will only intervene in an emergency, said Intra. In regular operation, the aim is to manage without a driver at all.
VW is working on the project with Intel subsidiary Mobileye, which is providing the self-driving technology for the electric van. The vehicle is intended exclusively for ride-sharing mobility services such as Moia. "Our goal remains to offer affordable, sustainable mobility in major cities that is accessible to everyone," said Intra.
Last year, the commercial vehicles division recorded record sales, turnover and profits. "It was the best in the history of our brand," said Intra.
Compared to the weak previous year, when supply bottlenecks and parts shortages put pressure on production, sales rose by a quarter to just under 410,000 vehicles, including 29,000 ID Buzz. This means that electric vehicles already account for more than 7% of sales.
Turnover rose by a third to €15.3 billion ($16.6 billion), while operating profit increased from €529 to €873 million.
This year will be much more difficult, Intra added. Overall, the markets are developing cautiously or declining. Numerous models that VWN intends to launch this year should provide fresh impetus.
These include the new VW Transporter, which was developed together with Ford for the first time and is to be unveiled at the IAA Transportion in Hanover in September.